ARCO Gets a Boost, But Market Drops Overall

As the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled, falling 641.77 points, or 5.82 percent, and closing at 10392.36, volatile energy prices slammed into the CSNews Stock Index, sending it southward by 560.81 points, a 10.68-percent decline. The index ended the trading session on Oct. 20 at 4688.97. Declining issues overpowered advancing issues 19 to 2. Four companies fell to new annual lows, while only one reached a new annual high.

One of the few bright spots in the trading period belonged to Los Angeles-based (ARCO), which closed at $92.44, up $4.69 per share or 5.34 percent. That performance made ARCO both the largest dollar gainer and largest percentage gainer for the period.

Shares of , Sanford, N.C., dropped 3.50 points, or 25.93 percent, and the chain ended the month at $10.50. The Pantry recently acquired seven stores under the Wickermart banner. Peter Sodini, The Pantry's president and CEO, said, "With the addition of the Wickermart locations, we continue to solidify our leadership position in the North Carolina marketplace. Wickermart is an important complement to our portfolio of stores as they benefit from high customer volume and easily accessible, superior locations."

Same-store sales at , Dallas, increased merchandise sales in September by 8.9 percent. The company said that about 5.5 percentage points of the increase is due to a pass-through to customers of the rise in the wholesale price of cigarettes, a gain that follows recent tobacco litigation decisions. Gasoline sales gained 26.2 percent over prior-year sales, an increase attributed to higher wholesale prices. 7-Eleven shares lost 0.28 points, or 13.85 percent, and ended at $1.75.