May 31--The Asbury Park Press/Bloomberg 75 index gained 3.27 percent last week on signs that the economy might have reached bottom.

The index, made up of 75 companies either headquartered at the Shore or with significant operations in New Jersey, was at 92.15, up 2.92 points.

Sixty-four companies advanced and 11 companies fell.

The index has fallen 4.3 percent since the beginning of the year.

The companies with the biggest percentage gains were: Avis Budget Group Inc., $4.80, up 99 cents, or 26 percent; TD Bank Financial Group, $50.91, up $8.04, or 18.8 percent; A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Inc., $3.36, up 49 cents, or 17.1 percent; Opnext Inc., $2.49, up 29 cents, or 13.2 percent; and Hess Corp., $66.59, up $6.57, or 10.9 percent.

Parsippany-based Avis, the nation's third-biggest rental-car company, said it obtained commitments for about $325 million for vehicles it plans to add to its fleet during the next four months, a sign it anticipates an increase in demand in 2010.

Berlin-based A.C. Moore, an arts-and-crafts retailer, said it completed a $10 million private placement in exchange for shares valued at $2.50 a share. Company executives viewed it as a vote of confidence in the company.

The companies with the biggest percentage losses were: Continental Airlines Inc., $9.32, down 52 cents, or 5.28 percent; Ingersoll-Rand Co., $20.23, down 92 cents, or 4.35 percent; Target Corp., $39.30, down $1.44, or 3.53 percent; OceanFirst Financial Corp., $12.55, down 45 cents, or 3.46; and Comcast Corp., $ $13.77, down 45 cents, or 3.16 percent.

Passenger demand for airlines, including Houston-based Continental, the biggest carrier at Newark Liberty International Airport, fell 3.1 percent in April, deepening the decline that began in September, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group.

And shareholders of Minneapolis-based Target re-elected the retailer's existing directors and rejected a slate nominated by hedge-fund manager William Ackman. The election ended two months of dueling claims.

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