Alabama stocks slip lower amid economic recovery anxiety

Alabama stocks fell last week as Wall Street drifted lower on concerns that the recovery is moving more slowly than hoped.

The Bloomberg Alabama Index fell 2.2 percent last week, reversing a similar-size gain the previous week. Still, the index has risen more than 17 percent this year and more than 28 percent in the past 12 months, according to Bloomberg News data.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, the stock market's most closely watched barometer, fell less than 1 percent last week. On Friday, the S&P took a tumble after railroad companies reported cautious outlooks.

"I'm watching truckers and railroads for signs the economy is improving, and we didn't get that," said John Massey, a money manager at SunAmerica Asset Management Corp. in New Jersey.

Banks in the Bloomberg Alabama Index took it on the chin last week.

Synovus Financial Corp., owner of Birmingham's First Commercial Bank, tumbled 19 percent. Late Thursday, Synovus' continuing credit troubles triggered a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss, leading analysts to cut forecasts for future earnings.

Birimingham-based Regions Financial Corp. fell for the week. It reported a third-quarter loss of 37-cents per share, more than analysts predicted.

Mobile's BancTrust Financial and Birmingham's Superior Bancorp also fell.

In earnings news, Mobile's Computer Programs and Systems Inc., which provides technology for health care providers, said third-quarter revenue rose 8.7 percent to $33 million, while profit dropped 1.8 percent to $4 million.

"As we look ahead to 2010, we remain optimistic that the economic and political environment will translate into opportunities for new business," CEO Douglas Boyd said in a statement.