On Monday, stocks logged their worst session in more than a month. Today, the markets are mixed as Wall Street mulls the impact of the European debt situation. Although Greece remains at the forefront, rumors have surfaced that Italy’s credit rating might be downgraded, eliciting fears the debt crisis is contagiously spreading across Europe. In response, purse strings are tightening, causing travel company Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) to fall to a 52-week low. With cutbacks to European energy subsidies, Chinese solar energy stocks JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ: JASO) and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) also are posting 52-week lows.
Further stoking the bearish flames are domestic economic issues. Murmurs of a stalled economic recovery and continued failed talks on the U.S. debt ceiling are weighing on investors. As is news that increased oil imports caused the U.S. trade deficit to rise to $50.2 billion in May – the highest level in more than two-and-a-half years.
However, some stocks are showing bullish resilience, including technology-related companies Radiant Systems (NASDAQ: RADS) and Overland Storage (NASDAQ: OVRL), both of which have hit fresh 52-week highs this morning.
A complete synopsis follows below.
Stocks hitting 52-week highs
Radiant Systems: The hospitality and retail business software solutions company is up over 30% this morning on news that competing IT service firm, NCR Corp (NYSE: NCR), is acquiring Radiant for $1.2 billion.
Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ: IPSU): The processor and marketer of refined sugars has sweetened about 7% so far this morning. The stock has been encountering technical resistance around $22 but appears to have broken through this resistance point and looks poised to rush higher.
Overland Storage: The data storage and backup recovery systems firm has gained about 6% so far this morning. The company appears to be up on recent news that competing technology supplier, Hutchinson Technology (NASDAQ: HTCH), upwardly revised its third-quarter estimates, signaling strength in the overall data storage sector.
Stocks hitting 52-week lows
Delta Air Lines: The passenger and cargo airline transport company has fallen about -3% so far this morning as concerns over the spreading European debt crisis make investors wary about travel and other discretionary expenses.
JA Solar Holdings: The Chinese manufacturer of photovoltaic solar cells and solar products has dimmed by about 5.5% in morning trading. The company is among a host of solar providers, including Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), experiencing weakness in the solar market because of reduced European solar energy subsidies.
ReneSola Ltd.: The China-based solar wafer producer has lost around 8% so far this morning after lowering its second-quarter outlook because of price declines in its core wafer business.
As of this writing, Deborah O’Malley did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
