Dec. 30--The Asbury Park Press/Bloomberg 75 index gained .43 percent last week during a holiday-shortened trading week.

The index, made up of 75 companies either headquartered at the Shore or with significant operations in New Jersey, was at 92.48 Friday at 5 p.m., up .40 points.

The index advanced even though 38 companies posted declines, 34 companies posted gains and three were unchanged.

The index has fallen 41 percent in 2008.

The companies with the biggest percentage gains were: Avis Budget Group Inc., 70 cents, up 14 cents, or 25 percent; Valley National Bancorp, $18.99, up $2.04, or 12 percent; Covance Inc., $44.95, up $3.52, or 8.5 percent; Central Jersey Bancorp, $6.30, up 39 cents, or 6.6 percent; and Cablevision Systems Corp., $15.23, up 85 cents, or 5.91 percent.

Parsippany-based Avis, the third-largest U.S. rental-car company, rose after banks renewed the financing commitments it needs to continue to buy vehicles. Standard & Poor's analyst Betsy Snyder said the agreement would give Avis breathing room until the economy improves.

Wayne-based Valley National Bacorp rose after it was added to the S&P MidCap 400. It replaced FLIR Systems Inc., an imaging company that joined the S&P 500.

The companies with the biggest percentage losses were: Osteotech Inc., $1.85, down 31 cents, or 14.4 percent; Vonage Holdings Corp., 70 cents, down 8 cents, or 10.3 percent; Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., 21 cents, down 19 cents, or 8.33 percent; Macy's Inc., $8.60, down 75 cents, or 8.02 percent; and FirstEnergy Corp., $45.93, down $3.16, or 6.44 percent.

Cincinnati-based Macy's fell as consumers spent at least 20 percent less on women's clothing, electronics and jewelry during the holiday shopping season in what might have been the biggest sales decline in four decades.

Discounts of 70 percent off or more by Macy's and other retailers failed to prevent an overall spending drop of as much as 4 percent during the final two months of the year, according to data from SpendingPulse.

And Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy fell after announcing steps to base its Ohio electricity rates on market prices beginning Jan. 5 because state regulators scaled back its proposal to extend regulated pricing. FirstEnergy is also the parent company of Jersey Central Power & Light Co.

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