Regis, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Atlas Pipeline Partners lead small-cap percentage losers
Also included among the results: Matrixx Initiatives (Nasdaq:MTXX), Rubicon Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:RBCN), Venoco Inc. (Nasdaq:VQ), Titan International Inc. (Nasdaq:TWI), Warner Music Group Corp. (Nasdaq:WMG) and Houston Wire & Cable Co. (Nasdaq:HWCC).
American Greetings, Universal Travel and Sonic lead small-cap percentage gainers
Also included among the results: Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (Nasdaq:APL), OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:OGXI), Bridgford Foods Corp. (Nasdaq:BRID), International Assets Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:IAAC), Spire Corp. (Nasdaq:SPIR) and Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq:CENX).
Domtar, Midsouth Bancorp and ImmunoGen lead small-cap percentage losers
Also included among the results: Blue Square-Israel ADR (Nasdaq:BSI), OfficeMax Inc. (Nasdaq:OMX), FGX International Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:FGXI), Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (Nasdaq:APL), Broadwind Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:BWEN) and Complete Production Services Inc. (Nasdaq:CPX).
WIND, COWN, FR, APL Lead Small Cap Trading
Software developer Wind River (Nasdaq:WIND) is the small cap leader today posting a 44% gain as of press time, 1:15 P.M. Eastern, on news of its acquisition by industry giant Intel (Nasdaq:INTC).
With the deal expected to close during the summer, Intel has committed to a price of $11.50 per share. As of this writing, shares of Wind River are going for $11.53. This certainly follows my thesis of technology, in addition to healthcare and energy, leading small caps for the foreseeable future.
Another big small cap gainer for today includes investment banker Cowen Group (Nasdaq:COWN) up 28.5% on news of its impending merger with Ramius, LLC, a privately held asset management firm. The new company will retain the Cowen name and is expected to continue trading on the Nasdaq.
Other small cap gainers include First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) up 37.9% on news of closing three secured financial transactions for $154 million; Atlas Pipeline (NYSE:APL) up 16.1% to $7.57 (you'll recall Atlas was a big winner yesterday after announcing it's joint venture with Williams (NYSE:WMB). Since Friday's close, Atlas has rewarded investors with a 44% gain.
Small cap decliners include Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF), maker of popular clothing directed to the youth market, posting a loss of 10.6% in today's trading after reporting same store sales had fallen 28%; Northeast Bancorp (Nasdaq:NBN) of Lewiston, Maine, down 14.7%; and The Gap (NYSE:GPS) down 7.9% on reporting that sales fell 6% versus one year ago.
All major indices are reporting positive gains as of press time with the Russell 2000 Index up 1.12% to 528.56, the Dow up 0.70% to 8,735.80, the S&P 500 up 0.96% to 940.74, and the Nasdaq up 1.07% to 1,845.37. Analysts attribute much of this to reports showing that the number of unemployed still receiving benefits dropped unexpectedly for the first time in nearly five months.
Also big in today's news was crude oil hitting another high for 2009. New York Mercantile Exchange oil hit $69.56 in earlier trading today, meaning that crude oil is now nearly twice as expensive as it was in February.
Note: I've recently released a report on three small cap oil plays that will take advantage of crude oil's drive to even higher prices this year. In fact, one of these stocks has already given investors a nice 148% gain since we added it on March 30th. And there's still more action with this and the other two stocks. You can request your copy of the report HERE.
*****Yesterday, Ben Bernanke told the House Budget Committee:
"In recent weeks, yields on longer-term Treasury securities and fixed-rate mortgages have risen…[t]hese increases appear to reflect concerns about large federal deficits…"
Hmmm. I would swear that Treasury Secretary Geithner just told China that rising interest rates were a sign of optimism for the U.S. economy. Can rising rates be both good and bad? All I know is that if you listen to government long enough, anything and everything is possible.
Rising interest rates on Treasury bonds mean that prices are falling. Whether you're talking dollars or doughnuts, prices tend to fall when there's oversupply. And right now, with the Federal government raising trillions to fund stimulus spending and budget deficits, there's a more-than-adequate supply of T-bills.
Competition also affects interest rates, or yields, on T-bills. If the arcane valuation formulas running on server banks in the basement of some hedge fund say that the stock market is likely to post an 8% gain, few managers will get too excited about the 5% return on long bonds. That 5% yield must rise (with the price of the bond falling) to entice buyers.
So when Geithner says that rising yields indicate optimism, he's telling the truth to a degree. Yes, now that the economy is recovering a bit, investors believe that stocks are a better investment than bonds. And that's good. But one reason stocks are attractive is because bonds are so unattractive.
*****I suspect the Chinese know all this. They probably also know that they benefit by lending us money. Heck, if Chinese money delays the hard choices long enough, they may ascend to the throne of world's largest economy sooner than expected.
*****Bernanke also took the opportunity to warn Congress about rising deficits. He said "Unless we demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal sustainability in the longer term, we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth."
Let's not forget Bernanke has supported the policies that got us where we are. Now let's see what he proposes to help get us out of this mess.
*****The last time I made the observation that the news cycle was turning negative, we saw stocks consolidate their recent gains, instead of turning lower.
Well, it seems to me that the news cycle is starting to turn negative again.
Bernanke repeated his belief that the recession is ending, but the financial media chose to latch on to his statement that recovery will be slow. Improving manufacturing data was deemed "not-as-good-as-expected."
Will this lead to a sell-off, another period of consolidation, or will more positive data emerge to keep the markets moving higher? I don't know, but I am on alert…
That's it for today.
P.S. One way to help insulate your portfolio (particularly if you're retired or even if it's a few years off) from the government's loose monetary policy is by holding dividend stocks. These stocks give you a regular payout and have tremendous upside. Be sure to check out my new research report with five such winning stocks right now. You can get it HERE.
Origin Agritech, Bob Evans Farms and Applied Signal Technology lead small-cap percentage gainers
Also included among the results: Hub Group Inc. (Nasdaq:HUBG), Life Partners Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:LPHI), Utah Medical Products Inc. (Nasdaq:UTMD), Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (Nasdaq:APL), Technitrol Inc. (Nasdaq:TNL) and Rubicon Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:RBCN).
Russell closes in the green; TRGL, DRYS and ADCT lead gainers
Stocks reversed course mid-week and made solid gains today thanks to bargain-hunters who were on the prowl, and on rumors that China may release a new stimulus package. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Toreador Resources (Nasdaq:TRGL), DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS) and ADC Telecommunications (Nasdaq:ADCT).
Other Market Watch highlights today included:
• The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 6.46, or 1.79%, to 367.47. The Dow closed up 2.09% to 6,866.44 and the S&P 500 closed up 2.38% to 712.87.
• For the year, the Russell is now down 26.43%, the Dow is down 21.76% and the S&P 500 is down 21.08%.
• The Fed released a survey today that showed the U.S. economy has deteriorated in the past 2 months and that the outlook for a quick recovery is bleak.
• ADP Employer services reported this morning that private employers cut 697,000 jobs in February versus a revised 614,000 jobs lost in January. The January job cuts were originally reported at 522,000.
• Rumors that China may announce a huge stimulus bill lifted global stock markets higher overnight.
• The Obama administration released a foreclosure prevention program today that also helped buoy stocks higher.
• Oil prices climbed 9% to $45.38 after global stock markets rallied and the U.S. government reported that crude levels in storage unexpectedly shrank.
Small Cap Gainers:
• Toreador Resources Corporation climbed 25% today after completing its Black Sea assets sale. See (Nasdaq:TRGL).
• DryShips closed up 40% following an update of its sale and purchase activities released on Tuesday. See (Nasdaq:DRYS).
• ADC Telecommunications rose 29% after reporting Q1 results and . . .
American Greetings, Savannah Bancorp and Berry Petroleum among 52-week lows
Spartech, Lacrosse Footwear and Cabot lead small-cap percentage losers
Also included among the results: SuccessFactors Inc. (Nasdaq:SFSF), Perry Ellis International Inc. (Nasdaq:PERY), Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (Nasdaq:APL), Lindsay Corp. (Nasdaq:LNN), Union Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:UNB) and SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq:SIVB).
