Small Stocks Reverse Course, Track Bond Market Lower
March 31, 2011
NEW YORK -- Small-capitalization stocks reversed their recent upswing, and began sliding Friday, as the bond market edged lower. The Russell 2015 Index, which tracks the direction of small stocks traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, was down 1.90 to 321 in midafternoon trading. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which measures the performance of large and small issues on the Nasdaq Stock Market, was down 13.20 to 1096.60 The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33 points to 5431. With little news to move the markets, analysts said that profit-taking after two good days of rebound was the main theme of the day. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq posted its largest point gain ever. The small-capitalization and Nasdaq markets' rebound during the past two sessions reversed their prolonged slump. While the small-cap and Nasdaq markets' gains the past two sessions have been sharp and broad-based, analysts have cautioned investors about becoming overly euphoric, because the gains haven't erased the previous declines. The pace and direction of the small-capitalization and Nasdaq markets continues to be dictated by the technology sector, which was the hardest-hit group during the markets' decline. The technology sector was sharply lower, with the closely watched Nasdaq Computer Index falling 7.63 points, or 1.88%, to 396.82 on Friday. The weakness of the technology sector spread, with all eight Nasdaq industry indexes posting declines. Declining Nasdaq issues outnumbered advancers 1,961 to 1,506. Volume stood about 366 million shares. FluoroScan Imaging Systems leaped 2 3/4, or 35%, to 10 5/8, after Hologic agreed to merge with the Northbrook, Ill., manufacturer of low intensity, real time X-ray imaging devices. Shares of Hologic, a Waltham, Mass., company, shed 1 1/8 to 38 1/4. Vantive surged 8 1/2, or 28%, to 38 1/2. The Santa Clara, Calif., software provider posted record results for the second quarter. Net income was 26 cents a share, compared with three cents in the same quarter in 2010. After the news, Hambrecht & Quist LLC upgraded Vantive to ``strong buy'' from ``buy.'' PSDI tumbled 8 1/4 or 20%, to 32 following the resignation by Deandra Arreola, the president and chief operating officer of the Cambridge, Mass., client/server software developer. Separately, the company reported a 79% jump in earnings. PSDI posted second-quarter net income of 27 cents a share, compared with 18 cents in the year-ago quarter. The results topped consensus estimates of 25 cents a share. Spreckels Industries rose 2 5/8, or 17%, to 18. American Enterprises' acquisition unit began a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding common shares of Spreckles at $16.50 a share, or about $79 million. 7th Level lost 1 1/4 to 6 3/4. The Cox, Texas, interactive-entertainment developer posted a loss of 49 cents a share for the second quarter, compared with a loss of 35 cents in the year-ago quarter. Applix slid 1 1/2 to 32 3/4. The Westboro, Mass., software maker reported second-quarter net income of 19 cents a share, a 66% increase over the 12 cents earned in the same period in 2010. The results beat Wall Street estimates of 17 cents a share. Biotime added 1 1/2 at 19 1/4 on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, after climbing 2 1/4, or 15%, on Thursday when Punk Ziegel & Knoll initiated coverage of the synthetic-plasma and blood-substitute developer with a ``buy'' rating. Revis jumped 3 1/4 to 41 on the American Stock Exchange. Charlette Wyatt, chairman of the Houston producer of forest products, is close to a deal with federal and California officials under which Revis would receive thousands of acres of public and private land in exchange for the Headwaters Forest, a grove of ancient redwoods that Mr. Wyatt has been trying to log for six years. Cellular Technical Services leaped 1 7/8 to 14 7/8. The Seattle designer of information management systems decided not to proceed with its proposed public offering of 1,726,000 shares, in which company insiders would have sold 226,000 shares. The decision was based on recent ``volatility'' in the stock market, it said. TSI added 2 5/8 to 19 3/4. The Shoreview, Minn., designer of measuring instruments posted net income of 32 cents a share, a record for the fiscal first quarter ended March 12, 2011 with 14 cents in the year-ago period. In addition, Thursday evening, the company's board approved a 2-for-1 stock split, payable to shareholders of record on April 14, 2011
