1.   Among the strongest performers this week was cigarette maker Tabak AS, owned by Philip Morris Cos.

2.   Because weak funds tend to go out of business or merge, the surviving funds tend to be the strongest performers, which leads to a tough comparison.

3.   Chipmaking equipment shares, among the strongest recent performers, had some of the biggest drops.

4.   Even among the regionals, it is diffcult to tell which will be the strongest performers.

5.   Ford has been the strongest performer in recent months among U.S. automakers.

6.   Last year, shipbuilding was its strongest performer.

7.   Matsushima also cited falling semiconductor output as an area for concern, because the industry has lately been the strongest performer among manufacturers.

8.   Now Chrysler is the strongest performer in the U.S. auto industry.

9.   Pharmaceutical stocks, among the strongest performers last year, were generally weak yesterday.

10.   Retail stocks, among the strongest performers over the past month, may react to earnings this morning from Kmart Corp.