While the U.S. financial markets suffered a broad sell-off Monday in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks, a number of sectors of the economy saw incremental gains at the closing bell. Gainers included security and defense companies specializing in issues ranging from airline safety to military buildup. The big losers were insurers and travel stocks. The markets had been closed for four days, the longest shutdown since the Great Depression.
NYSE volume came to a record 2.33 billion shares, surpassing the previous volume record of 2.13 billion on January 4, 2001. The Dow Jones Industrial average set a record for a one-day point drop, closing below 9,000 for the first time in more than 2 1/2 years.
Most publicly held radio companies also suffered amid the day’s volatile trading, as Clear Channel, Emmis, Beasley, Entercom, Viacom, and others had losses in the 10-percentage point range. The Nasdaq composite and Dow Jones Industrial index were off 7.13 percent and 6.83 percent respectively.
AOL Time Warner was off $4.41 (-12.82 percent), Clear Channel stock slid $4.76 (-10.85 percent), Cumulus dropped $0.34 (-3.41 percent), Emmis dropped $2.77 (-12.93 percent), Jefferson Pilot was off $3.14 (-6.96 percent), Hispanic Broadcasting was down $1.48 (-8.93 percent), and Radio One fell $1.24 (-9.89 percent). Salem actually posted a modest gain on the day of $0.04 (+0.21 percent). Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio took heavy losses of 14.89 percent and 15.31 percent, respectively.
Nasdaq gainers were predominantly companies in the security business, such as makers of explosive detection systems for aircraft and providers of aviation security services. Videoconferencing stocks are on the rise, too, as investors expect a number of businesses to substitute technology for travel. Defense contractors such as Raytheon, Northrup Grumman, and Lockheed Martin all advanced.