San Diego stocks joined the rest of...

San Diego stocks joined the rest of the market in the free fall Monday that dropped the Dow Jones industrial average by 508 points, or 22.6%, according to Irving Katz, director of research at San Diego Securities.

Panic hit the market as investors took their profits--if any--early and sold to raise cash. The market operates on fear and greed, Katz said, and the byword Monday was fear that the market was forecasting a deep recession that might lead into a depression.

The last week has wrought havoc on Price Co., which dropped another 7 points to close at 32 after receding 7 1/2 points the previous week. Investors in retail stocks were fearful that discretionary purchases will disappear along with the paper profits that the market has wiped out.

WD-40 dropped 6 to 26 3/4 after reporting disappointing fourth-quarter sales and earnings. Although returning a superior return on revenue and invested capital, the company is facing the reality that its products are in a mature market, Katz said.

The savings and loan group was down, along with other interest-sensitive stocks, as interest rates moved higher. Great American First Savings Bank was down 2 5/8, Home Federal dropped 3 3/4 and Imperial Corp. of America was down 2.

Rohr Industries was the largest point loser of the week, down 12 7/8 to 20, as institutions, which are Rohr’s major shareholders, decided en masse to bail out.

The conglomerates were also down, with Henley Group off 5 7/8 to 23 3/8 as the market still awaits its planned 20-million-share buyback. Intermark was down 1 7/8 to 11 3/8, joining its Pier 1 subsidiary, which fell 2 to 7 1/2. Fisher Scientific Group was down 4 3/4 for the week, closing at 14 1/2.

Defense and electronics stocks were down, with Cohu off 2, Cubic down 3 7/8, IRT down three-quarters, Precision Aerotech down 1, CCT Corp. down 2 7/8, Cipher Data Products down 2 3/8 and Maxwell Laboratories down 1 1/2 for the week.

The biotechnology companies also got sucked along with Agouron Pharmaceuticals down 1 3/4, Molecular Biosystems down 4 5/8, Mycogen down 1 3/4, Synbiotics down 2, Syntro down seven-eighths and Xytronyx down 3.

Selling seemed to be overdone in Foodmaker, which was down 4 3/8 to 7, down 50% from its high this year, and Mail Boxes Etc., which was down 2 to 12. Selling was also overdone in SDG&E;, which was down 4 3/8 while, at 28 5/8, it offers a secure dividend of 8.8%.

Also faring poorly were some of the new issues. Advanced Marketing Services was down 2 3/4 to 7 3/4 after going public recently at 13. Xscribe was down 1 to 6 1/8 after going public at 8. Gen-Probe, which was originally offered at 7, was down 1 3/8 to 5 5/8.

Countering this tide of down stocks was Northview Corp., which was up 6 to 16 3/4 after announcing a possible acquisition by Calmark.