September's Top Indexes Soared by Over 20%

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 10:40 am EDT, Thursday October 1, 2009

The market bucked expectations for a rocky September, and select industries powered ahead by more than 20%.

The S&P 500 was up 3.6% in September, edging out its August performance by 21 basis points, and putting a cap on the benchmark's second straight quarter of 15% gains. Meanwhile, a number of sectors put up double-digit percentage gains in what many expected to be a rocky month after the summer rally.

As a whole, the Broadcast TV Stocks Index to a massive 29% September. Gray Television (NYSE: GTN - News) set the pace with a 188% after announcing the launch of its "Mobile DTV" signal on September 3.

LIN TV (NYSE: TVL - News) also entered the mobile market when it announced a new application for Research In Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM - News) BlackBerry Storm smartphones. LIN shares ran by 50% in September, as did fellow broadcasters Belo (NYSE: BLC - News) and Entravision Communications (NYSE: EVC - News).

Avis Budget Group's (NYSE: CAR - News) 44% run helped the Vehicle Rental Stocks Index shoot up by 26% last month. In early September the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company announced that it would prohibit smoking in all of its rental vehicles effective October 1.

Meanwhile, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE: DTG - News) investors enjoyed a 30% September leap as the company re-franchised some operations and announced plans to close even more underperforming locations than previously announced.

Hertz (NYSE: HTZ - News) and U-Haul parent Amerco (NYSE: UHAL - News) were also positive for the month, though their performance weighed on the sector average.

The Energy Storage and Battery Technology Stocks Index has been getting a lot of attention recently, as it should while on a 23% one-month rally.

Traders sent Hong Kong Highpower Technology (AMEX: HPJ - News) up 120% for the period, making it the sector's top performer. Meanwhile, China BAK Battery (NASDAQ: CBAK - News) and Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL - News) added more than 35% in September. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A - News, BRK-B - News) earned another 30% on its stake in Chinese battery and electric car company BYD (OTC: BYDDF - News).

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