May 30--After a generally listless month of trading, Trib 30 stocks managed to post a gain in May, reflecting perhaps measured optimism about the economy.

The index of local stocks increased by three points, or 1.4 percent, to finish at 213.1 on Friday, the last trading day of May. It was the Trib 30's third monthly gain in a row.

There was an even split of winners and losers, with 15 stocks up and 15 down.

No local issues, however, reached a 52-week high. One stock, power utility First Energy, set a 52-week low.

May's trading did not clearly penalize or favor one sector over another. But many manufacturing companies showed at least modest gains during the month, while financial stocks took a welcome pause, instead of a beating.

The Trib 30 is an equal-weighted index of stocks of companies located or dominant in Western Pennsylvania. An investor who divided $100,000 equally among the 30 stocks on Dec. 31, 1999, had a portfolio worth $213,100 at the end of trading yesterday.

May's mark roughly equaled the 213.5 close in September, when the financial meltdown began to tear down the stock market for the next six months.

The Trib 30, however, did not score nearly as well as the Dow Jones industrial average. The Dow ended May at 8,500, a 4 percent jump from April's close of 8,168. The local index increased 1.4 percent to 213.1.

The month's lone loser, First Energy, hit a 52-week low of $35.26 at mid-May. The utility's shareholders drove the stock down after Ohio regulators accepted a power auction's results that pushed down electric prices dramatically.

Other utilities in the index experienced a mixed month, with no big movements up or down since April.

Most manufacturers sported some kind of month-over-month gain, but none better than U.S. Steel. The steelmaker registered a more than 28 percent gain in May, especially in the past week. It closed May at $34.08, on bullish analyst reports and heavy insider purchases of the stock.

Medical instruments maker Thermo Fisher Scientific gained nearly 11 percent in May, while H.J. Heinz rose more than 6 percent.

But air and water purifier Calgon Carbon fell about 32 percent to $11.53. That was despite reports that cash flow hit a nine-year high and the company received a $25 million mercury-removal contract.

Most financial stocks gained ground in May, led by PNC Financial, which rose nearly 15 percent to end the month at $45.55.

Thomas Olson can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7854.

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