Arkansas Index loses 4.83; 14 issues down

The Arkansas Index, a price- weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 4.83 to 353.55 Thursday.

“Stocks slid to their lowest levels on the week with volatility rising in advance of today’s presidential inauguration while the U. S. dollar strengthened after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged,” said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.

Fourteen stocks in the index fell Thursday and four rose.

Shares of Simmons First National Corp. rose 2 percent to lead the index.

J. B. Hunt Transport Services fell 3.7 percent.

Total volume for the index was 20.4 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat- Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.