The Closing Bell, 10/23: Waddell & Reed gains ground

Shares in Waddell & Reed topped the local gainers list Friday in what was a lackluster day on Wall Street.

The Overland Park mutual fund company closed at $29.96, up 85 cents.

On the flip side, Cerner lost $1.33, Kansas City Southern fell $1.12, Layne lost $1.11, and Garmin, $1.06.

On Wall Street, investors dumped stocks and locked in profits Friday after the glow of a week full of strong earnings reports faded.

The retreat came as cautious forecasts from railroads caused unease about the economy and a rising dollar pushed prices of commodities lower, which hurt materials and energy stocks.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 109.13 points, or 1.08 percent, and closed at 9,972.18.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 13.31 points, or 1.22 percent, and closed at 1,079.60.

The Nasdaq composite index dropped 10.82 points, or 0.50 percent, and closed at 2,154.47.

An early reading of the KansasCity.com index of 145 regional companies showed a drop of 8.10 points, or 1.31 percent, at 612.05.

Among Kansas City area companies of interest:
I Cerner Corp. closed at $82.02, down $1.33.

I Capitol Federal Financial closed at $31.12, down 26 cents.

I Commerce Bancshares Inc. closed at $39.95, down 16 cents.

I DST Systems Inc. closed at $43.73, down 58 cents.

I Garmin Ltd. closed at $37.92, down $1.06.

I Great Plains Energy closed at $17.90, down 40 cents.

I H&R Block Inc. closed at $19.46, down 42 cents.

I Kansas City Southern closed at $26.80, down $1.12.

I Sprint Nextel Corp. closed at $3.25, down 13 cents.

I UMB Financial Corp. closed at $39.11, down 75 cents.

I Waddell & Reed Financial Corp. closed at $29.96, up 85 cents.

I YRC Worldwide Inc. closed at $3.33, down 24 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.