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8B Daily News – Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Small company stocks are a bright spot NEW YORK (AP) — Small-company stocks were a bright spot in a subdued start to the week for Wall Street. The Russell 2000, an index of small-company stocks, climbed above 1,000 points for the first time and ended higher Monday, even as the Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index all edged lower. The gains for the smaller companies are encouraging for the broader stock market because they show that investors are becoming more comfortable about the economy and investing in riskier assets, said Rob Lutts, Chief Investment Officer at Cabot Money Management. Small-company stocks are considered riskier than the stocks of well-established, large companies like IBM or Coca-Cola. That's because small companies are often relatively young and tend to have less diversified businesses than larger ones, making them more susceptible to swings in demand from their customers. There are also fewer buyers and sellers for them, which can make the stocks harder to off-load if prices The Wall Street start to fall. ''Having smaller stocks hit new highs means that the rally is broad,'' Lutts said. ''It gives us a little more confidence that it's a good, sustainable rally that can hold together for a while.'' The better-known market barometers, the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes, fluctuated between small gains and losses for most of Monday. They ended slightly below the record levels they reached Friday. The Russell 2000 rose 1.70 points, or 0.2 percent, higher at 997.98. The index climbed as high as 1001.50 at midday. The index currently consists of 2,008 of the smallest stocks of the U.S. equity market and the average company having a stock market value of about $1.5 billion. Sunpower Corp., a manufacturer of solar panels, has led gains for the index this year, climbing $17.08, or 304 percent, to $22.70. Keryx Biopharmaceuticals is the second-biggest climber in the index, rising $5.32, or 203 percent, $7.94. The Dow closed down Over 25 years of experience STOVE JUNCTION BBQ PELLETS 19.12 points, or 0.1 percent, at 15,335.28, paring its gain for the year to 17 percent. The S&P 500 index fell 1.18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,666.29. Its advance for the year now stands at 16.8 percent. Investors are focusing on the Federal Reserve this week and looking for clues about what it plans to do next with its economic stimulus program. On Wednesday Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will appear before Congress and the central bank will release minutes of its most recent policy meeting. The Fed is buying $85 billion of bonds every month to keep long-term interest rates low. That has encouraged investors to put money into stocks instead of bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has been below 2 percent almost continually since April 12. That's less than many large companies pay in dividends. Policy makers are unlikely to cut back on stimulus just yet since U.S. economic growth is likely to slow in the second quarter, said Scott Wren, a senior equity strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors. As a consequence, Wren said, stocks are likely to continue to rise. ''At some point, we will see some sort of a pullback, but it doesn't seem like it's The North State's premier supplier of stoves Now in Stock! Popular customer request Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened Member Discount 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check $ starting at + 25958 $ 25 certificate presents "A Garden of Quilts" beginning of the financial crisis in 2007. ''This market rally still has legs, partly because we've seen huge retail inflows back into equities,'' Braakman said. ''It's hard to beat the money flow.'' In commodities trading, the price of crude oil rose 69 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $96.71 a barrel. The price of gold rose for the first day in eight as the dollar fell. The precious metal climbed $19.40, or 1.4 percent, to $1,384. Gold has slumped this month as its attraction as an alternative investment fades as the dollar appreciates. The U.S. currency is RUNNINGS ROOFING May 18th & 19th 2013 (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Tehama District Fairgrounds 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. Over 300 Quilts • Vendors Demos-Food Need a little guidance & motivation? Experience Premium Group Fitness C O U P O N Sun Country Quilters going to be right now,'' said Wren. ''In the near term we're probably going to trade a little bit higher.'' The stock market rally is also is being underpinned by investors moving back into stocks, reversing years of outflows of funds from equity markets, said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer at First American Trust. Investors have invested about net $17 billion into domestic stock mutual funds since the start of the year, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. Investors have pulled money out of mutual funds every year since the Class Pass C O Pass Valid through May 2013 U Go to www.tehamafamilyfitness.com P O for current class schedule N Must present coupon We Offer 100 group training classes per week! Free to members! Starting in May..: Kick Boxing Unleashed and Drums Alive! Tone Zone - Aqua Aerobics - Yoga - Hybrid - Kettlebell - Pilates - Spin - Kids Fit - Circuit Training - Zumba - Silver Sneakers & More! 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