Index plummets 9.01 as all 18 stocks drop

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, sank 9.01 to 284.46 Wednesday, its lowest level since closing at 279.64 in August 2013.

The index is down 7.8 percent this year and down 28 percent since the end of 2014.

All 18 stocks fell Wednesday.

USA Truck had the biggest drop, losing 8.9 percent in above-average volume, and hitting a 52-week low.

Windstream fell 7.4 percent in heavy trading.

America’s Car-Mart fell 6.6 percent on high volume, also reaching a 52-week low.

Other companies that established 52-week lows were ArcBest, J.B. Hunt, Murphy Oil and P.A.M. Transportation.

Total volume for the index was 32.8 million shares.

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