Trib 30 index drops 9 points

The stock market dropped on leap day, Feb. 29, the end of a down month for the Trib 30 list of local stocks overall.

The index shed nine points last month to finish February trading at 231.5. Metals was the only bright spot among the major industry sectors.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 316 points yesterday. And every Trib 30 stock closed lower than on Thursday, except for Parkvale Financial, which rose 77 cents.

Overall, Trib 30 losers in February swarmed winners by about 2-to-1, with 19 stocks down, and 11 up. Three stocks fell to new, 52-week lows (Dominion Resources, Mylan and Verizon Communications).

The Trib 30 is an equal-weighted index of stocks of companies located or dominant in Western Pennsylvania. An investor who divided $100,000 equally among the 30 stocks on Dec. 31, 1997, had a portfolio worth $231,500 at the end of trading yesterday.

Stock of Mylan plummeted to $11.71, the drug maker's lowest stock price in more than five years. Shares dropped after the company posted a quarterly loss of $1.4 billion, mostly due to costs from a major acquisition in October.

Dominion Resources, the electric and natural gas supplier, sank to a new low of $39.78 on the last day of the month. The utility reported disappointing earnings that were highlighted among S&P 500 index members' negative surprises yesterday.

Verizon dropped to a new low of $33.30, the telecommunication company's second low in as many months. The stock was hurt when its wireless unit rolled out a new flat-rate subscription plan, which investors apparently worried would hurt earnings.

Several metals, however, bounced back in February after getting trounced the month before.

Aluminum giant Alcoa and specialty metals maker Allegheny Technologies both posted double-digit percentage gains for the month. At the end of January, Alcoa had fallen by the same margin, and Allegheny Technologies had dropped to a 52-week low. U.S. Steel also increased smartly in February, by 6.4 percent, or $6.49 a share.

Two stocks leaped to new, 52-week highs last month. Calgon Carbon, which makes liquid- and gas-purification systems, rose to a high of $18.94 -- a good $2 above its high a month ago. Based in Robinson, the company posted strong quarterly earnings in February.

Gas utility Equitable Resources reached a new high of $63.77, but on no discernible news.