Hawai'i travel, biotech firms hit hard

• Dow drops 7.1% but avoids any sign of panic selling
• Calm prevails despite selloff

Advertiser Staff

As local investors pondered the future, most Hawai'i companies saw their stocks drop in value. The biggest losses were in the travel sector, hit nationwide as analysts predicted huge losses due to an expected drop in travel.

Hawaiian Airlines dropped 59 cents per share, or 21 percent, to close at $2.25 after bottoming out at $2.10 earlier in trading. Ticket wholesaler Cheap Tickets was off $3.89, or 24 percent, closing at $12.55.

Biotechnology firms Aquasearch and Cyanotech also saw their share prices plunge. The industry is generally considered a high-risk investment, and biotech stocks can fare poorly in uncertain times. Aquasearch was down 17 percent to 17 cents, while Cyanotech lost 8 percent and closed at 60 cents.

Financial services companies also fared poorly. Though banks are generally considered safe stocks, the sector is expected to take a hit as major financial companies struggle with the deaths of employees and loss of equipment from the World Trade Center attack.

Locally, Bank of Hawai'i owner Pacific Century Financial Corp. was down 7 percent to $23.71, and Central Pacific Bank owner CPB Inc. dropped 10 percent to $30.

Not all stocks lost big. Hawaiian Electric Industries, owner of Hawaiian Electric Co. and American Savings Bank, fell just 1 percent, to $40.20, while Big Island nut company ML Macadamia Orchards was unchanged at $3.24.