Small caps rise
The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) has recovered from its earlier loss and is posting a modest rise.
At 11:38 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was up 2.50 points, or 0.35%, to 716.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had declined 2.93 points, or 0.02%, to 12,623.10.
Small-cap stocks surprisingly rose into positive territory shortly after 11 a.m. ET. The move comes despite news before the opening of a steeper-than-expected decline in payrolls.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that payrolls fell by 80,000 in March, while total job losses for the first two months was revised up to 152,000 from a previously reported 85,000.
Companies providing school services are currently the best performing industry group. Among them is small-cap American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq:APEI), which has seen its stock rise 4%.
Similarly, shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corp. (Nasdaq:LINC), which provides post-secondary education, are slightly higher.
On the flip side, companies making computer storage devices are currently the worst performing industry group. Shares of Hutchinson Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:HTCH), which makes disk drive components, are down more than 1%. San Jose-based Quantum Corp. (NYSE:QTM) is also down.
