L.A. Stocks Recovering from Crash

0

Los Angeles-area companies hit by Tuesday’s market collapse rebounded slightly Wednesday along with the rest of Wall Street as investors took comfort in comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.


The world-wide market crash that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling as much as 500 points Tuesday — largest single-day drop in the U.S. markets since Sept. 11, 2001 — also took a chunk out of shares in many L.A. companies.


The Los Angeles Business Journal’s index of L.A.’s largest public companies lost more than 3 percent Tuesday, or 5.38 points, with 160 of the 193 companies losing share value. Of the 160 companies that lost share value Tuesday, eight lost more than 10 percent, including Salem Communications Corp., Health Sciences Group Inc., PC Mall Inc. and CytRx Corp. Before Tuesday, L.A. companies had gained nearly 4 percent for the year.


House of Taylor Jewelry Inc. took the hardest hit, losing more than 24 percent Tuesday to close at $3.49 per share.


Hi-Shear Technologies Corp., which makes equipment that helps get satellites into orbit, ended a streak that began in early January and boosted shares as much as 44 percent. Van Nuys-based Trio Tech International, which tests computer components for reliability, also saw its shares end a two-week, 30 percent growth spurt Tuesday. Both stocks dipped 14 percent, closing at $11 and $13.60, respectively.


In mid-afternoon trading Wednesday, the Dow was up 60.64, or 0.50 percent, to 12,276.88 after being up more than 100 points earlier in the session. House of Taylor added 3 percent to $3.60 while Hi-Shear added nearly 4 percent to $11.41 and Trio Tech gained nearly 5 percent to $14.25.

No posts to display