Small caps lead the way up
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) led a mid-session rally that lifted stocks into positive territory, reversing a bearish morning. The small-cap index gained 11.29 points, or 1.41%, to 810.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 44.95 points, or 0.33%, to 13,566.97.
On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has increased 2.88%, while the Dow has added 8.76%.
Small-cap futures were pointing south and stocks opened in the red on news of an economic slowdown. The finance ministers and central bankers from the G7, the world’s top seven industrialized countries, said over the weekend that U.S. economic growth is in for a slowdown due to tighter credit, the housing slump and the high price of oil.
Just before 10 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had slipped below a level of 790, but then managed to tentatively approach the flat line before finally settling on an upward trajectory at around 12 p.m. ET. The Dow was more volatile and without a clear direction until just before the close.
Helping the bulls was the technology sector, as investors saw a buying opportunity on expectations of strong third-quarter earnings ahead of the release of Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) third-quarter numbers after the closing.
Small-cap software firm Synplicity Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNP) defied those projections, reporting a slight decline in its third-quarter profit.
Overall, homebuilders and financial companies posted gains, as investors saw a bargain after Friday’s steep declines. But the mildly bullish sentiment missed small-cap players PrivateBancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: PVTB) and United PanAm Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: UPFC), which reported poor third-quarter earnings and ended the day down.
Here are the day’s biggest percentage gainers and losers, along with top volume leaders, among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:
Biggest percentage gainers:
• Radiation Therapy Services Inc. (RTSX), up 44% to $30.94 on news of a buyout.
• Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT), up 22% to $19.84 on news of a doubling of third-quarter profit.
• RadiSys Corp. (RSYS), up 17% to $13.68 following an analyst upgrade.
Biggest percentage losers:
• Silicom Ltd. (SILC), down 24% to $18.32. The company could not be reached for comment.
• SulphCo Inc. (SUF), down 16% to $6.15. There was no immediate answer from the company regarding the stock's movement.
• Mobile Mini Inc. (MINI), down 15% to $17.65 on news of a lower third-quarter guidance.
Volume leaders:
• Standard Pacific Corp. (SPF) 12,189,900 shares traded.
• Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT) 5,460,000 shares traded on news of a doubling of third-quarter profit.
• Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) 4,837,400 shares traded.
