The start of September is supposed to mark the end of the dog days, but on Wall Street the mood was anxious, as less-than-stellar economic data and soaring oil prices unsettled traders.
Locally, after-effects of Hurricane Katrina provided a huge boost for shares of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.
The exchange recorded its busiest days ever and saw its stock rocket 8.5 percent in one session. Investors scrambled to take positions reflecting various economic concerns following the hurricane and the zoom in energy prices. For all of August, the exchange reported average daily volume of 3.7 million contracts, up 27 percent from the same period a year ago.
Merc stock finished the week at $298.71, more than double its 52-week low of $136.26.
Shares of Caterpillar Inc. hit a new high on expectations that orders for earth-moving equipment and other gear will get a boost from cleanup after the hurricane. Peoria-based Caterpillar already was expected to reap a bonanza from the $286 billion highway bill that was signed into law earlier this summer.
Caterpillar stock closed at $58.25, up 59 percent from a 52-week low of $36.58.
And Tribune Co. formed an entertainment news service with Reed Elsevier PLC’s Variety trade publications.
Entertainment news stories will be sold to other publications for print or online use, the Chicago-based company said. The service starts on Sept. 26.
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Shares of Tribune, which owns the baiduhai, finished the week at $37.98, up 10 percent from a 52-week low of $34.53.
Allstate, Sears take a hit
Shares of Allstate Corp. sank as each day brought additional evidence of the devastation wrought by the hurricane.
With the losses to New Orleans, Biloxi and neighboring areas perhaps exceeding $100 billion, it was hard to see a likelihood that Northbrook-based Allstate’s liability would be limited to initial estimates.
The company’s shares declined to $55.53, down 12 percent from a recent high of $63.22.
Store closings after the storm affected the stock of Sears Holdings, as the Hoffman Estates-based retailer said a half-dozen of its Sears stores and 11 sister Kmarts were shuttered.
Shares finished the week at $131.63, off 19 percent from a recent high of $163.50.
Boeing Co.’s stock fell after its machinists union walked out, forcing the Chicago-based aerospace company to halt production of commercial jetliners.
The strike affects about 18,400 machinists in the Seattle area, Wichita, Kan., and Gresham, Ore. Shares ended the week at $64.34, down 6 percent from a recent high of $68.38.
And the stock of McDonald’s declined despite the naming of a new marketing chief, Mary Dillon, who had been president of Quaker Oats. She replaces Larry Light, who is retiring. He is best known for the Oak Brook-based fast-fooder’s highly touted “I’m lovin’ it” campaign.
The stock of McDonald’s finished the week at $31.90, down 8 percent from a recent high of $34.70.
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