Stock markets: Easy go, easy come

BusinessFort SmithNews on the Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) May 10, 2010 6:11 pm 72 views 

What goes down may just as quickly come up.

Just a few days ago the market went wild with an almost 1,000-point drop with the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

According to Yahoo! Finance, the DJIA lost 998 points (9.2%) on May 6 before recovering at the end of the trading session to a 347.8 point loss (3.2%). The NASDAQ fell 82.65 points (3.44%), the S&P 500 dropped 37.72 points (3.24%) and the Dow Jones Transport Index fell 144.97 points (3.18%). The trading range marked the biggest plunge since the market crash in October 1987.

But the market had different plans for this week.

Wall Street began the week with a 404-point gain (3.9%) on Monday  (May 10), with the NASDAQ up 4.81%, the S&P 500 up 4.4% and the Dow Jones Transports up 5.53%.

The share prices of companies based in the area saw impressive Monday gains. Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co. (NYSE: BEZ) enjoyed the biggest jump, with its share price closing Monday at $37.11, up more than 10% on the day.

Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. (NASDAQ: ABFS) closed the day at $28.44, up 4.83% for the day. Van Buren-based USA Truck saw its share price jump to 2.59%, closing at $16.25.

The biggest jump by an Arkansas-based stock was with Dillard’s. The Little Rock-based retailer saw its share price (NYSE: DDS) close at $26.81 on the day, up 15.61%.

However, the share prices of many companies based or active in Arkansas still lower than their late April peaks.

• UPS AND DOWNS
Stock price changes since April 29 (closing prices listed)
Arkansas Best Corp. (Fort Smith)
May 10: $28.44
April 29: $31.54

Baldor Electric Co. (Fort Smith)
May 10: $37.11
April 29: $40.39

Dillard’s (Little Rock)
May 10: $26.81
April 29: $29.98

Oklahoma Gas & Electric (Oklahoma City)
May 10: $38.49
April 29: $41.15

Tyson Foods (Springdale)
May 10: $18.24
April 29: $19.88

USA Truck (Van Buren)
May 10: $16.25
April 29: $18.59

Wal-Mart Stores (Bentonville)
May 10: $52.58
April 29: $53.70

Whirlpool (Benton Harbor, Mich.)
May 10: $106.64
April 29: $110.76