Most people tend to think that small cap stocks are all growth companies. The prevailing wisdom is that if a company has a market cap below $3 billion then the reason to buy shares is that the company has tons of room to grow. Maybe eventually become a large cap stock, and in the process earn early investors multiples on their initial investment.

IEC Electronics Corp. (Nasdaq:IEC), SmartHeat Inc. (Nasdaq:HEAT) and Hi Shear Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:HSR) are among the new 52-week highs in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (Nasdaq:DTG), China Fire & Security Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CFSG), Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Targacept Inc. (Nasdaq:TRGT), LodgeNet Interactive Corp. (Nasdaq:LNET) and Century BanCorp Inc. (Nasdaq:CNBKA).

Universal Travel Group (Nasdaq:UTA), Cray Inc. (Nasdaq:CRAY) and Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (Nasdaq:HMIN) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: RINO International Corp. (Nasdaq:RINO), Voltaire Ltd. (Nasdaq:VOLT), Builders FirstSource Inc. (Nasdaq:BLDR), John Bean Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:JBT), LaserCard Corp. (Nasdaq:LCRD) and Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW).

ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CKSW), NeurogesX Inc. (Nasdaq:NGSX) and Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: JMP Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JMP), Health Fitness Corp. (Nasdaq:FIT), Aruba Networks Inc. (Nasdaq:ARUN), Multimedia Games Inc. (Nasdaq:MGAM), Bridgepoint Education Inc. (Nasdaq:BPI) and Rentrak Corp. (Nasdaq:RENT).

Female Health Co. (Nasdaq:FHCO), Books-A-Million Inc. (Nasdaq:BAMM) and Universal Forest Products Inc. (Nasdaq:UFPI) are among the new 52-week highs in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: ArcSight Inc. (Nasdaq:ARST), Citi Trends Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRN), Travelzoo Inc. (Nasdaq:TZOO), Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Rentrak Corp. (Nasdaq:RENT) and Central Garden & Pet Co. (Nasdaq:CENT).

Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq:ININ), Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN) and Stein Mart, Inc. (Nasdaq:SMRT) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ardea Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq:RDEA), Books-A-Million Inc. (Nasdaq:BAMM), Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Hi-Tech Pharmacal Inc. (Nasdaq:HITK), Global Consumer Acquisition Units (Nasdaq:GHC.U) and SXC Health Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq:SXCI).

Dorman Products Inc. (Nasdaq:DORM), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (Nasdaq:DTG) and Virtusa Corp. (Nasdaq:VRTU) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:MRCY), Walter Investment Management Corp. (Nasdaq:WAC), Books-A-Million Inc.(Nasdaq:BAMM), Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc. (Nasdaq:PPD), United States Lime & Minerals Inc. (Nasdaq:USLM) and Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW).

Virtus Investment Partners Inc. (Nasdaq:VRTS), Bridge Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:BDGE) and AsiaInfo Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:ASIA) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Pervasive Software Inc. (Nasdaq:PVSW), Smith Micro Software Inc. (Nasdaq:SMSI), STEC Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC), Seabridge Gold Inc. (Nasdaq:SA) and ESB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:ESBF).

Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ) and Liz Claiborne Inc. (Nasdaq:LIZ) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq:CENX), Patriot Coal Corp. (Nasdaq:PCX), McMoRan Exploration Co. (Nasdaq:MMR), Venoco Inc. (Nasdaq:VQ), Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:MRCY) and Liquidity Services Inc. (Nasdaq:LQDT).

Bare Escentuals Inc. (Nasdaq:BARE), Diedrich Coffee Inc. (Nasdaq:DDRX) and Skechers USA Inc. (Nasdaq:SKX) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), OfficeMax Inc. (Nasdaq:OMX), Interface Inc. (Nasdaq:IFSIA), HUGHES Telematics Inc. (Nasdaq:HTC), American Commercial Lines Inc. (Nasdaq:ACLI) and Shutterfly Inc. (Nasdaq:SFLY).

Cowen Group Inc. (Nasdaq:COWN), Tier Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:TIER) and Basic Energy Services Inc. (Nasdaq:BAS) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: FBL Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:FFG), Vitran Corp Inc. (Nasdaq:VTNC), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc (Nasdaq:EGLE), TNS Inc. (Nasdaq:TNS), Penford Corp. (Nasdaq:PENX) and Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW).

Providence Service Corp. (Nasdaq:PRSC), Stewardship Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:SSFN) and PAM Transportation Services Inc. (Nasdaq:PTSI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: BCSB Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:BCSB), Shoe Carnival Inc. (Nasdaq:SCVL), Citizens Holdings Co. (Nasdaq:CIZN), United Security Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:USBI), Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW) and Winmark Corp. (Nasdaq:WINA).

Lacrosse Footwear Inc. (Nasdaq:BOOT), Primeenergy Corp (Nasdaq:PNRG) and Alon USA Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:ALJ) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.(Nasdaq:EGLE), Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Mercantile Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:MBR), Willbros Group Inc. (Nasdaq:WG), John Bean Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:JBT) and MVC Capital Inc. (Nasdaq:MVC).

ArcSight Inc. (Nasdaq:ARST), Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:LVB) and PHI Inc. (Nasdaq:PHIIK) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), ExlService Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:EXLS), Rex Stores Corp. (Nasdaq:RSC), Nymagic Inc. (Nasdaq:NYM), Universal American Corp. (Nasdaq:UAM) and Vocus Inc. (Nasdaq:VOCS).

Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), TBS International Ltd. (Nasdaq:TBSI) and Kronos Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq:KRO) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (Nasdaq:GNK), RehabCare Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:RHB), AK Steel Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:AKS), Chart Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:GTLS), Rockwood Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:ROC) and Citi Trends Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRN).

Hallwood Group Inc. (Nasdaq:HWG), Blount International Inc. (Nasdaq:BLT) and Dynamic Materials Corp. (Nasdaq:BOOM) are among the new 52-week lows in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. (Nasdaq:GIFI), Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:RJET), Ship Finance International Ltd. (Nasdaq:SFL), Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:SASR), Fisher Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:FSCI) and Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW).

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) gave up early gains today to slip for the fourth consecutive week, finishing off the first month of the year with a sizable loss of 11.2%. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Horizon Lines (Nasdaq:HRZN), Accuray (Nasdaq:ARAY) and Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The GDP report headline figure came in at minus 3.8%, which was much better than expected.
• Even though the number beat the projection, it was still the worst showing for the U.S. economy since 1982.
• The Chicago headline figure came in at 33.3, which was below the forecast of 34.9.
• The Goldman Sachs Analyst Index, a survey of Goldman’s equity analysts across a range of sectors, fell to an all-time low in January.
• The Dow fell 8.8% in January, while the S&P 500 was off 8.5%. This marked the worst start to the year in history for the stock market.
• Looking ahead to next week, we’ll see another full slate of reports starting out with the ISM Manufacturing Survey on Monday and then heading into the main event – Friday’s big monthly employment release.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Horizon Lines posted a surprise adjusted Q4 profit; shares rocketed 19%. See (NYSE:HRZ).
• Accuray climbed 26% after Q2 profit met estimates. See (Nasdaq:ARAY). 
• Clearwater Paper closed up over 11% after announcing Q4 and . . .

Although today usually marks one of the quietest trading weeks of the year, stocks ended overwhelmingly lower at closing, pulled down by shares of retailer, tech, automotive and energy companies. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are MAP Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:MAPP), Palm (Nasdaq:PALM) and Colony Bankcorp (Nasdaq:CBAN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Automakers were finding out that the glow from Friday’s $13.4 billion dollar White House bailout had a short shelf-life among investors.
• Credit Suisse analysts lowered its rating on GM to “underperform” and cut their price target to $1.
• Despite the soft tone in equities, Treasury markets were relatively tame and actually were lower into the final hour of trading.
• Risk appetite on the equity side of things was also an issue today, with small caps noticeably underperforming large caps most of the day.
• Crude oil prices tumbled again today, pulled down by worries not just about the demand picture from the United States, but also from China.
• Crude oil prices lost almost 6% in U.S. trading, slipping back below $40 a barrel on the close. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• MAP Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:MAPP) closed up over 20% after announcing a worldwide collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop and commercialize a new drug.
• Palm (Nasdaq:PALM) gets $100 million investement, shares rallied . . .

Small-cap stocks started out what is traditionally one of the quietest weeks of the year in the stock market with a jolting decline as concerns about corporate profits and the slumping economy took a toll on retailer, tech stocks, automakers and energy shares. However, a late bounce off the worst levels of the day took some of the sting out of the decline. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 11.19, or 2.30%, at 475.07.

Risk appetite on the equity side of things was also an issue today, with small caps noticeably underperforming large caps most of the day. Part of that might have been an adjustment off the nice rise last Friday and Tuesday for small-cap fare. Still, despite the soft tone in equities, Treasury markets were relatively tame and actually were lower into the final hour of trading, which suggests investors weren’t fleeing stocks for safe-havens, they were just worried about stocks in general.

A big part of that worry was likely tied to expectations for this year’s shopping season to be dismal. Last weekend was supposed to spark a final rush of last-minute holiday shopping, but dreadful weather in many locations probably kept shoppers huddled up indoors instead of at the stores. The International Council of Shopping Centers is anticipating holiday sales to drop as much as 1%, the largest decline since at least 1969, when the group started tracking data.

The U.S. economy is heavily dependent on consumer spending, but with the economy in recession all year and unemployment climbing to the highest levels in a generation, even steep discounts at the stores haven’t been able to save holiday cheer for retailers. The S&P Retail Index tumbled more than 4% today. As for small-cap shops on the move today, Charming Shoppes Inc. (Nasdaq:CHRS) collapsed 20%, basically giving back most of Friday’s dramatic surge. That theme of giving back . . .