GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The investment firm D.A. Davidson & Co. has created a regional stock index that is intended to help track the performance of 99 publicly traded companies in Utah and other Western states.
The company said its "99 Regional Stock Index" was constructed in a similar manner to the Dow Jones industrial average and will track stocks of companies operating within seven states in the greater Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions. That covers Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
"We are pleased to be able to provide investors, media and analysts with a unique and comprehensive measure of how these regions are performing in the marketplace," Ian B. Davidson, chairman of Davidson Companies and D.A. Davidson & Co., said in a written statement.
"As a leading investment firm in the region, we believe that this newly created index, which covers broader trends than most local stock indices, will help to more accurately represent these regions and their economic viability."
The securities included in the index were selected based on the companies' market capitalization, importance within their sectors and importance within the states they represent, Davidson said.
About 20 percent of the index weighting comes from industrial goods producers, basic materials companies and energy companies, three sectors that are considered important economic drivers in the greater Northwest region.
Other major sector contributors to the index include consumer stocks, financial institutions and technology stocks.
Of the 99 companies included in the index, 41 are representative of Washington, 20 of Oregon, 12 of Utah, 11 of Colorado, nine of Idaho, four of Montana and two of Wyoming.
D.A. Davidson & Co. is an independently owned investment firm based in Great Falls, with offices in eight states.
The company said the closing price for the Davidson 99 Regional Index will be published daily on Davidson's Web site.