A stock market surge that saw the Dow Jones industrial average hit an all-time high during the first quarter of 2013 also greatly benefited the shares of Utah’s publicly held companies.
The Salt Lake Tribune/Bloomberg Index, which tracks the share-price performance of Utah’s largest publicly held companies, rose 12 percent during the first quarter of this year, hitting a record of 395.90 on March 26. Its performance beat the 11 percent gain of the Dow and the 10 percent climb by Standard & Poor’s 500.
Nationally, investors seemed to be particularly focused on buying shares of companies with high dividend yields, such as those found in the health care, consumer staples and utility sectors, Sterling Jenson, regional managing director for Wells Capital Management in Salt Lake City said.
And that seemed to play out among Utah companies as well.
Utah’s top performer during the first quarter was USANA, a multi-level marketing company that sells nutritional and personal health care products. Its shares were up 47 percent. Salt Lake Tribune
