Shares in YRC Worldwide continued their strong showing this week, tacking on another 61 cents.
Stock in the Overland Park-based trucker closed Friday at $3.66. The stock has strengthened on the hope that wage and benefit concessions approved by union and white collar workers will help keep the company out of a potential bankruptcy.
Other notable gainers among regional stocks Friday were Cerner, up $1 to $66.87; Capitol Federal Financial, up 56 cents to $32.95; and Garmin, up 12 cents to $36.18. A Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analyst issued a buy recommendation on Garmin earlier today.
In other news involving area stocks:
-- Sprint CEO Dan Hesse will speak next Thursday at a Goldman Sachs program in New York.
-- Collective Brands, the Topeka-based shoe company, will host a conference for institutional shareholders on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Kansas City.
-- Waddell & Reed declared a quarterly dividend on its Class A stock of 19 cents per share, payable Nov. 2 to shareholders of record on Oct. 2. The financial services company also will announce third quarter financial results before the opening of trading on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Meanwhile on Wall Street, stocks slipped in quiet trading Friday after the recent string of gains and a drop in oil prices. Crude slid 3.7 percent, which hurt some energy stocks like Exxon Mobil Corp. That overshadowed a rosier profit forecast from FedEx Corp. and a government report on improving sales at wholesalers.
Even with the losses, stocks still logged big gains for the week.
Separately, the Commerce Department reported that sales at the wholesale level rose in July by the biggest amount in more than a year, though inventories fell for a record 11th straight month. The rise in sales could lead businesses to start adding back to inventories, which would be a good signal for the economy.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.07 points, or .23 percent, to 9,605.41.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.41 poiints, or .14 percent, to 1,042.73.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 3.12 points, or .15 percent, to 2,080.90.
An early reading of the KansasCity.com index of 145 regional companies showed a loss of 1.51 points, or .23 percent, to 644.75.
Among Kansas City area companies of interest:
I Cerner Corp. closed at $66.87, up $1.
I Capitol Federal Financial closed at $32.95, up 56 cents.
I Commerce Bancshares Inc. closed at $36.87, up 7 cents.
I DST Systems Inc. closed at $45.19, down 26 cents.
I Garmin Ltd. closed at $36.18, up 12 cents.
I Great Plains Energy closed at $17.84, unchanged.
I H&R Block Inc. closed at $17.38, up 9 cents.
I Kansas City Southern closed at $27.56, down 38 cents.
I Sprint Nextel Corp. closed at $3.77, down 1 cent.
I UMB Financial Corp. closed at $39.89, down 14 cents.
I Waddell & Reed Financial Corp. closed at $26.13, up 5 cents.
I YRC Worldwide Inc. closed at $3.66, up 61 cents.
The Closing Bell is compiled from staff and wire reports by Steve Rosen. Call him at 816-234-4879 or send e-mail to srosen@kcstar.com. A recap of the day’s markets activity is available in the Business section of The Kansas City Star.
Thank you Greeley!