For stocks, the year began on a hopeful note and ended the quarter even more promising.
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 11.3 percent in the quarter, and pulled up many stocks of regional interest tracked by BusinessWeekly.
The market performed so well, that of the 77 publicly traded stocks of companies with a significant presence in Northeast Pennsylvania, just two lost value in the first quarter. Among the laggards were manufacturing, banking, publishing and telecommunications companies.
"There weren't many companies that lost money or shares that lost value unless they had an individual issue," said Lou Ingargiola of Ingargiola Wealth Management Group in Dunmore.
Some stocks of regional interest were off. Shares of UK-based Pearson PLC were down the most, sliding 8 percent in the quarter.
The top performer was television station owner Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc., up 71 percent in the quarter. The company reported ongoing strong earnings growth. In January, Nexstar initiated a cash dividend of 12 cents per share.
Frontier Communications found the telecom world changing fast around it. In late March, Fitch Ratings downgraded Frontier based on lower expectations for revenue growth for the next two to three years and less revenue from intercarrier payments. Frontier ended the quarter by taking on $750 million in debt, a move that prompted some institutional buyers to sell the stock.
"The marketplace is changing. The entire world is moving rapidly, and this industry is different today than five years ago, and will be different five years from now," said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecom analysts based in Atlanta. "The pressure is on these companies to develop skills and products for this new environment."
Shares of General Dynamics, dependent on government defense contracts, struggled against uncertainty not only because of draw-down in military actions, but also because of government funding cuts in the light of the sequestration. While a "laggard" because it was among the bottom five performers, it still gained nearly two percent in value.
"With the U.S. withdrawing from conflicts, sequestration, and the rolling layoffs, the uncertainty caught up," said Mr. Ingargiola.
Long a speculative stock, Rite Aid Corp. shares improved considerably, jumping more than a third.
Much of Rite Aid's improving performance was a result of a commercial dispute between Walgreens and Express Scripts, which forced Express Scripts customers to fill their prescriptions elsewhere.
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. closed the quarter near its 52-week high as production in the Marcellus Shale increased with the development of natural gas pipelines.
In the second quarter, Mr. Ingargiola said he expects continued moderate growth in the economy.
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com