A controversial credit downgrade of U.S. government long-term
debt by Standard & Poor's late Friday has left global financial
markets in tatters as stock investors struggle to find firm
footing.
Large or small, stocks are expected to take it on the chin early
this week as governments wrestle with resurrecting their
beaten-down economies. The fact that gold has crossed the $1,700
mark for the first time and that Treasuries are on the rise show
where investor sentiment could be headed.
That's not to say that there aren't plenty of bargain stocks out
there, including many small caps. Biotech and tech shares in
general were among the top gainers on Friday. Most of the upticks
in share price continue to be driven by quarterly results.
On Friday, the best-known indicators of small-cap stock performance
both declined. The Russell 2000 Index was off 1.67 percent, while
the Standard & Poor's Small Cap 600 finished the day 0.97
percent lower. Last week, the Russell lost 10.3 percent of value,
while the S&P Small Cap 600 fared slightly better falling 9.4
percent.
Of the best-known market indicators, only the Dow Jones Industrial
Average was higher on Friday, up 0.54 percent, but was still down
5.8 percent for the week in its worst performance since October
2008. The Nasdaq Stock Market was off 0.94 percent for the day and
is down 11.4 percent since July 22, when stock declines began to
kick in. The S&P 500 closed down 0.06 percent on Friday and
down 7.2 percent for the week.
The biggest percentage decliner on the Nasdaq Stock Market was
Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU)
, closing down 59.3 percent at $9.44, after reporting a net loss in
the second quarter. Chinese telecommunications and e-services
provider
Cogo Group (Nasdaq: COGO)
shed 38.5 percent to $2.88, on an analyst downgrade following
release of firm second-quarter results but weak third-quarter
guidance.
Friday's Top Performing Small Cap Stocks (Data provided by
Google Finance)
Raptor Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: RPTP)
: Shares of the early-stage drug developer had fallen 33 percent
during Thursday's market sell-off, then rebounded on Friday. Raptor
recently reported positive Phase 3 results in a clinical trial of
one of the drugs that it's working on.
Marchex (Nasdaq: MCHX)
: The marketing company that designs advertising technologies to
reach local consumers online reported second-quarter revenue rose
80 percent while net income was nil because of one-time
compensation charges. The stock is up 85 percent in the past year.
BG Medicine (Nasdaq: BGMD)
: Shares of this life sciences company, which develops diagnostic
tests based on biomarkers for cardiovascular, autoimmune and other
diseases, finished the week up nearly 9 percent.
Web.com Group (Nasdaq: WWWW)
: The Internet services provider soared a second day (it was up
almost 20 percent on Thursday) on a big second-quarter revenue jump
and a deal that should help it compete better with the likes of
GoDaddy.com and possibly double its revenue. Shares are up 160
percent in the past 12 months.
Rosetta Stone (
RST
)
: The developer of language learning systems posted a
second-quarter loss, but its international business investments
contributed to a 10 percent rise in revenue.