Stocks endured a volatile week, with the Dow Jones industrial average having three triple-digit moves before ending down less than 1 percent.
Nevertheless, among the 50 largest companies in Illinois and northwest Indiana, 26 managed to post gains last week.
Technology stocks were battered Friday after computer-maker Dell Inc. reported worse-than-projected quarterly earnings, with the Nasdaq composite index sliding 1.8 percent. For the week, the Nasdaq lost 2 percent.
Some local technology companies were not spared:
* Schaumburg-based telecommunications giant Motorola Inc. lost 5.7 percent for the week, its second consecutive decline, falling to a close of $9.42 on Friday. Its stock is 52 percent below its 52-week high.
* Chicago-based cell-phone powerhouse U.S. Cellular Corp. shed nearly 2 percent on the week, to $52.30. Chicago-based Telephone & Data Systems Inc., the majority owner of U.S. Cellular, dropped less than 1 percent, to $38.40. Both fell more than 5 percent the previous week.
Food companies also saw their shares slide, with Downers Grove-based Sara Lee Corp. dropping 1.5 percent, to $13.50, and Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. losing 3.3 percent, to $31.51. It was the second consecutive weekly decline for both stocks.
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The biggest percentage decliner of the week was Chicago- based exchange operator CME Group Inc., which dropped more than 6 percent, to $335.38. Its stock is 53 percent below its 52-week high.
On the plus side, the biggest percentage gainer was Anixter International Inc., which vaulted into the top 50 with a 9.5 percent gain, to $73.81. The Glenview-based distributor of communication products and other parts announced a pair of acquisitions on Wednesday.
Also advancing were shares of Moline-based Deere & Co., which continues to benefit from the boom in agriculture. On Thursday, it announced plant expansions valued at $180 million in the U.S. and Brazil. The stock advanced 4.5 percent, to $70.57.
Meanwhile, shares of Deerfield- based fertilizer company CF Industries Holdings Inc. had a second consecutive strong week. They advanced 5.7 percent, to a Friday close of $152.40, after the previous week’s 12 percent surge. Its shares are up 38 percent this year and have more than doubled in the past 12 months.
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