Though the new year technically started on Friday, squeezing a trading day in after a holiday and before a weekend doesn’t quite help us out if we were looking for early clues about sector leadership. As fas as I’m concerned, today’s the first real day of trading in 2009. So, the clues from today’s activity mean a whole lot more to me.

In any case, if there are any clues we should take at face value from today’s small cap leaders, then here’s the list you’ve been waiting for…. the best-of-the best industries from the world of small cap stocks.

Some of these arenas I’m not surprised to see get a good start right out of the gate. Others I’m not so sure about. Take a look for yourself, but keep reading for my follow-up thoughts.

        Name                                  %Chg: 1 day      %Chg: 4 wk      3-Mon Pct Chg

1. Oil & Gas Drilling                           8.19%             27.19%              -28.12%
2. Automobiles Industry                    6.31%             17.75%              -10.97%
3. Marine Industry                            5.99%             26.38%              -12.33%
4. Oil & Gas Explore & Prod               5.61%             26.39%              -24.20%
5. Homebuilding                               5.36%             -1.64%              -23.23%
6. Diversified Financial Srvcs Ind        4.30%             5.23%                -1.14%
7. Energy Equip & Service Industry    4.61%             24.41%              -16.50%
8. Energy Sector                              4.45%             24.59%              -16.37%
9. Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels Ind    4.20%             24.84%              -16.99%
10. Oil & Gas Equip & Svcs                  4.00%             23.92%              -13.93%
11. Computer Hardware                      3.57%             12.15%              -15.42%
12. Cstr&Frm Mchnry & Hvy Tks          3.52%             17.43%               0.26%

Energy doesn’t shock me one bit. I predicted a modest recovery in oil prices with my predictions for the new year, which would pull the energy sector’s stocks along for the ride. I trust that strength, even if I still expect a lot of back-and-forth.

Automobiles doesn’t entirely shock me either. The ‘worst is over’ mentality prevails thanks to a government bailout. Fundamentally speaking though, the worst is not yet over. However, America’s love of turn-around stories may be enough to prop those stocks up for a while. A trade? Maybe. An investment? Not yet.

Homebuilding? Same as automobiles…..America loves a turn-around story more than they love results. I do think housing is at or near a bottom. It may take much longer for investors to see that we just don’t need as many houses or homebuilders as we currently have.

Financial stocks really are poised for a better 2009, though it’s still apt to be hit and miss from one stock to the next. I trust the early strength though.
As for computer hardware, I don’t see much longevity to today’s strength at all. Homebuilders and auto-makers can ride the euphoria train for a while. Hardware makers, on the other hand, have too much inventory, and not enough customers. Even if the economy turns considerably better, slightly-more-advanced technology is low on the list of priorities right now.

Farm machinery and trucks? Yeah, I can see that trend lasting a while. I predicted agricultural stocks would remain hot in 2009, which means ag equipment could as well.

Anyway, it’s just one day - not to be etched in stone. I just thought it was kind of interesting to see which small cap industries jumped on the first day of real trading. As I said on Friday though, January is an erratic month, full of ups and downs. The list above could change dramatically when I do my “monthly small cap leaders” list at the end of January.

If you’ve got any special insight about individual small cap companies that are driving the results above, please chime in below.

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