Apr. 1--The stocks of the Richmond area's largest publicly traded companies posted a decline in the first three months of the year but still fared better than two national indexes.

The Richmond Index of 19 public companies fell 4.96 percent during the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a 13.3 percent decline, and the S&P 500 Index lost 11.67 percent. The Nasdaq composite lost 3.07 percent during the same time period.

"It's pretty clear that the Richmond stock index has weathered this storm better than the national [indexes]," said Alan M. Gayle, senior investment strategist and director of asset allocation at RidgeWorth Investments.

The Bloomberg-created index consists of the 19 companies with headquarters in the Richmond area that have a minimum market capitalization of $15 million.

The best performer during the quarter was automotive retailer CarMax Inc., whose stock soared 57.87 percent.

Federal stimulus packages and reduced interest rates may have helped. Also, shares in the Goochland County-based chain ended last year lower, giving room to grow.

"I think the prospect of the stimulus plan provided some lift to the consumer stocks," Gayle said.

Shares of CarMax closed yesterday at $12.44. The company plans to release first-quarter earnings tomorrow.

NewMarket Corp., which manufactures petroleum-performance additives, came in next with an increase of 26.9 percent.

Tobacco companies Altria Group Inc. and Universal Corp. also saw increases in their stocks, in part because they are considered nondiscretionary spending by many consumers.

"Tobacco tends to do well in a lot of economic cycles," said Chris Konstantinos, a portfolio manager at Riverfront Investment Group.

Shares of James River Coal Co. and Massey Energy Co. posted double-digit losses. High commodity prices in 2008 that fell off this year are reflected in the stock prices, he said.

The bottom five performers included three companies -- LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Chesapeake Corp. and Circuit City Stores Inc. -- that are all in bankruptcy.

Circuit City posted the biggest stock loss -- a decline of 94.23 percent, according to the index. Chesapeake's stock value dropped 87.88 percent, and LandAmerica saw a decrease of 27.78 percent.

All three companies were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange for trading under a dollar over a prolonged period.

"To a certain extent, a lot of the bad news was priced into their stock," Gayle said. "We knew Circuit City was on the ropes." ------

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.

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