Index surges 8.28 as all 18 stocks gain

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, climbed 8.28 to 354.28 Tuesday.

“The major averages closed in positive territory as investors continue to react optimistically to the start of the second-quarter earnings season,” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.

All 18 Arkansas Index stocks were up.

Total volume for the index was 25.3 million shares.

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