US SMALL/MIDCAPS-Stocks jump 1 pct, led by cyclicals – Reuters
US SMALL/MIDCAPS-Stocks jump 1 pct, led by cyclicals – Reuters
Jun 09
NEW YORK, June 6 |
(Reuters) – Mid- and small-cap stocks
rallied for a second straight day on Wednesday with cyclical
shares advancing on signs that moves were being taken to rescue
troubled banks in Spain.
The situation in Spain, along with the similarly troubled
Greece and Italy, has pressured equities in recent weeks on
concerns about how the crisis could spread and impact global
economic growth.
Germany and European Union officials are urgently exploring
ways to rescue Spain’s banks, although Madrid has not yet
requested assistance and is resisting political conditions,
several EU sources said on Wednesday.
Despite the day’s gains, many were skeptical that the
advances would last.
Outside of the hope for additional help, “the macro picture
still isn’t looking great,” said Joe Cogan, vice president of
International Equities at Topeka Capital Markets in New York.
We’re setting ourselves up for a fall if we don’t see follow
through.”
Sectors tied to the pace of expansion rallied, with energy
leading the way on both the small and mid-cap indexes, followed
by materials and industrial shares. The mid-cap energy sector
soared 2.9 percent while small-cap shares
climbed 3.4 percent. Crude oil gained 2 percent.
Among the most active names in the space, Forest Oil
advanced 7.3 percent to $ 8.48 while Quicksilver Resources
added 7.2 percent to $ 4.17. In the small-cap industrial
space, power systems maker Vicor Corp climbed 5 percent
to $ 6.32 and NCI Building rose 4.4 percent to $ 9.48.
The S&P MidCap 400 index gained 1.7 percent while the
S&P SmallCap 600 index climbed 1.6 percent. Both indexes
gained about 1 percent for the second day in a row. The
benchmark S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent.
On the downside, mattress companies dropped after
Tempur-Pedic International Inc slashed its full-year
profit view. The stock plunged 46 percent to $ 23.40 on heavy
volume.
Among its peers, Select Comfort dropped 18 percent
to $ 21.15, Mattress Firm Holdings sank 21 percent to
$ 27.87 and Sealy Corp was off 8.2 percent to $ 1.56.