Small caps open flat
The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is flat as investors make sense of the latest economic and financial news.
At 9:59 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had declined 1.24 points, or 0.18%, to 697.14. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 12.86 points, or 0.10%, to 12,514.40.
Jobless claims for the week ended April 5 fell 53,000 to 357,000 from the preceding week’s upwardly revised total of 410,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported before the start of trading. Economists were expecting to see a smaller decline.
However, the four-week moving average, considered a more stable measure, rose to its highest level in more than two years.
Also making headlines before the opening was news that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) has liquidated three investment funds in the last quarter as their assets deteriorated due to fallout from the subprime mortgage debacle.
Futures were lower but narrowed the gap minutes before the start of trading as small-cap stocks briefly opened in the green.
Among the losers is retailer Tween Brands Inc. (NYSE:TWB). The New Albany, Ohio-based company reported before the opening that it is lowering its first-quarter earnings guidance.
On the flip side, shares of Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:GPRE) are higher on news before the opening that the ethanol producer swung to a first-quarter profit.
