Arkansas Index sees slight gain

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the state’s largest public companies, gained 0.11 to 250.37 Tuesday.

“U.S. stocks fell for their second-straight day as investors stepped to the side awaiting the start of the corporate earnings season,” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock. “Locally, Arkansas equities reflected the downside bias of the major market averages with declining issues outpacing advancing stocks by 9-to-7.”

Arkansas Best rose 3.3 percent on average volume while Home BancShares fell 1.1 percent, Williams said.

Volume was 22.2 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 24.6 million shares.

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