Small caps close higher; TGA, RXII and ANEN lead gainers
The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) managed to end Monday in the green, rising 1.28% at closing. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were TransGlobe Energy Corporation (NYSE:TGA), RXi Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:EAT) and Anaren Inc. (Nasdaq:ANEN).
Other Market Watch highlights today included:
• Existing home sales came in at an annual rate of 4.74M units, above the forecast of 4.4M. Sales were up 6.5%, compared with a slide of 9.4% in Nov.
• Leading indicators came in at +0.3%, better than the projection for -0.3%. This marked the first rise in leading indicators since June 2008.
• For the New Year, the Russell is now down 9.9%, while the Dow is off 7.5% and the S&P 500 is down 7.3%.
• Commodities in general rose slightly on the day, with the Commodity Research Bureau Index up 0.6%.
• The biggest percentage movers today were dominated by small banks and financial institutions (the KBW Banking Index tumbled 1.7%).
• Looking at the chart picture for small caps, the market is basically waffling up and down in the range set on Obama’s inauguration day.
• The market will get more information on the housing sector via Thursday’s new home sales report.
Small Cap Gainers:
• TransGlobe Energy Corporation closed up 24% after providing an update on its West Gharib operations today. See (NYSE:TGA).
• RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. rose 19% amid news of a collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. See (Nasdaq:RXII).
• Anaren Inc. rose 17%, closing above the 20-day moving average for the first time since Jan. 8. See (Nasdaq:ANEN).
Small Cap Losers:
• CBL & Associates Inc. tumbled 14% as the shopping mall developer and owner fell to the lowest close since early December. See (NYSE:CBL).
• Aerospace and industrial components manufacturer Barnes Group cuts jobs, freezes salaries. Shares closed down nearly 10%. See (NYSE:B).
• Wyeth withdraws from Crucell takeover talks, sending the small cap 14% lower at closing. See (Nasdaq:CRXL).
