The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average have risen for eight straight quarters, including small gains of less than 0.5% in the quarter ending Sept. 30. It’s the longest streak for the S&P 500 since 2013, while the gains are the longest for the Dow since 1997. The S&P 500 has jumped 22% in the last year, while the Dow is up 16%. Here are the major movers in the Capital Investment Cos./Nottingham Index of Carolinas-based public companies for the week ended Sept. 29. The index includes companies with shares trading for at least $10.
The biggest gainers:
Cree (CREE) 12.9% $28.19 — Durham-based LED maker hired former Freescale Semiconductor CEO Gregg Lowe as its top executive, replacing Chuck Swoboda, who had the job since 2001. Before he ran Freescale from 2012-15, Lowe worked at Texas Instruments for 28 years. Japan’s NXP bought Freescale for $11.8 billion in 2015.
SPX Corp. (SPX) 8% $29.34 — Charlotte-based industrial products company has gained 46% over the last year.
BenefitFocus (BNFT) 7.5% $33.65 — The Charleston, S.C.-based online benefits management company has declined 16% over the last year. It went public in 2013, initially trading for more than $50. Goldman Sachs owns 20%, according to a June filing.
Biggest decliners:
Scana (SCG) (-12.2%) $48.49 — Investors ditched the Columbia, S.C.-based utility because of the fallout from its cancellation of two nuclear units. It is the target of investigations into its handling of the project’s construction. Fitch cut Scana’s rating to BB+, moving the company one notch into junk territory. Meanwhile, S&P lowered its rating to BBB, which is still investment grade, but placed Scana on CreditWatch negative. Scana has lost a third of its value in the last year.
LabCorp (LH) (-2.6%) $150.97 — Burlington-based medical services company has gained 10% in the last year.
Select Bancorp (SLCT) (-2.4%) $11.71 — Dunn-based bank holding company is buying Charlotte-based Carolina Premier Bank, a deal announced in July. The combined banks will have 18 offices. Select has gained 45% in the last year.
