Small caps continue to trade sideways; SPPI, DENN, and ARD lead gainers
Small caps continue to trade sideways ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision due out at 2:15 p.m. Today’s small-cap gainers are Spectra Pharma (Nasdaq:SPPI), Denny's (Nasdaq:DENN) and Arena Resources (NYSE:ARD).
Other Market Watch highlights today included:
• Part of the rally in commodities was tied to a pullback in the U.S. dollar, as higher dollar values can hinder demand for goods priced in dollar terms.
• Also on the commodities front, copper was sharply higher, sugar and coffee were up, grains were called sharply higher, and gold and silver were up overnight.
• Energy shares were a big part of Wednesday’s epic stock market rally and could be a firm element in play again today.
• Crude oil futures were in rally mode this morning, climbing some $4 a barrel on hopes that all these global rate cuts would bolster demand and put a foundation on sinking prices.
• Small-cap stocks chopped back and forth near steady levels in a relatively calm open, in anticipation of the upcoming FOMC news.
Small Cap Gainers:
• Spectrum Pharma soars after announcing collaboration with Allergan on drug for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. See (Nasdaq:SPPI).
• Denny's has vaulted 32% after being upgraded by a Merriman Curhan Ford to buy from neutral on good cost management in Q3 (Nasdaq:DENN)
• Arena Resources gains after stating it will cut its cap-EX budget by 23% in 2008. See (NYSE:ARD).
• State Bancorp misses on Q3 earnings, yet shares are marginally higher. See (Nasdaq:STBC).
Small Cap Losers:
• Wright Express substantially lowers Q4 and full year guidance below the Street on fuel-price-related derivatives. See (NYSE:WXS).
• CTS Corp. posts lower Q3 EPS, but EPS still beat the Street. Revenues declined from last year and missed estimates. See (NYSE:CTS).
• KeyBanc Capital and Needham downgrade Ultimate Software to hold from buy. See (Nasdaq:ULTI).
• VistaPrint plunges after cutting 2009 outlook, ThinkPanmure cuts rating to accumulate from buy. See (Nasdaq:VPRT).
