Small caps open lower
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are sagging this morning on news of record oil prices and poor third-quarter earnings.
At 10:33 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had shed 5.43 points, or 0.65%, to 823.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was off 87.78 points, or 0.63%, to 13,897.01.
The price of oil has continued climbing to record highs, up more than $0.60 and approaching $87 a barrel. The increase is due to tight inventories as winter approaches and tensions along the border between Iraq and Turkey. On Monday the cabinet of Turkish prime-minister Tayyip Erdogan asked parliament for approval to launch an attack on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
In corporate news, health-care products maker Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported that its third-quarter profit fell 7.7% despite a 12.7% increase in sales.
Contributing to the bearish mood this morning is news after the close on Monday that U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told the Economic Club of New York that the slump in the housing sector is expected to get worse and will act as a drag on economic growth into early 2008.
In economic news, Federal Reserve’s monthly index of industrial production, showed a small rise for September. The index, which measures the change in the production of the nation’s factories, mines and utilities, added 0.1%, as projected. However, the reading for August was revised down to 0% from a previously reported increase of 0.2%.
Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:
Biggest percentage gainers:
• SCPIE Holdings Inc. (SKP), up 23% on news it’s being purchased.
• Pinnacle Gas Resources, Inc. (PINN), up 22% on news that is sold to Quest Resource Corp. (QRCP).
• Repros Therapeutics Inc. (RPRX), up 14% on news that it will refile for a clinical trial after a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Biggest percentage losers:
• Fuwei Films Co., Ltd. (FFHL), down 16% on news its majority shareholder has been arrested.
• Stanley Furniture Co. (STLY), down 16% on news of a decline in third-quarter profit and revenue.
• Quest Resource Corp. (QRCP), down 13% on news that it will buy Pinnacle Gas Resources, Inc. (PINN).
