For most investors, the three-month period that ended Thursday took a bite out of investment portfolios and retirement plans alike. The S&P 500 Index fell 2.3 percent, the Dow fell 3.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 7.4 percent in value. Was anybody not trampled by the stampeding sellers?

Investors in defensive sectors, such as energy and precious metals. And, closer to home, the holders of AK Steel or Winton Financial. The two led a group of nine Greater Cincinnati companies that posted double-digit price gains during the third-quarter.

Of course, many stocks were blown away during the same stormy quarter.

Omnicare's share price plunged 35 percent, mainly because of lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Shares of Kendle International lost 26 percent last quarter in spite of revenue gains and its rebound as a money-maker.

Here's the rundown on the region's 10 biggest stock-price gainers and losers last quarter:

•  After three years of losses and the prospect of bankruptcy, AK Steel of Middletown cut expenses and took advantage of a strong steel market to post a $20 million operating profit in the second quarter. The payback? A 55 percent stock price gain to Thursday's close of $8.16.

•  In Winton Financial's case, nothing like a buyout to take the eye off the ticker. Wesbanco Inc. of Wheeling, W.Va., swooped in on the parent of Winton Savings & Loan with a $102.5 million buyout in August, pushing up Winton's stock by 46 percent to $21.12 by quarter's end.

•  General Cable Corp. of Highland Heights closed out the quarter at $10.64, up 24 percent. The company said in August it would meet earnings estimates, in spite of a strike at its Texas plant, because of demand for its cable and wire products.

•  LanVision, a Blue Ash developer of medical records software, paid off a $6 million loan with a staggering interest rate of 25 percent, a rate that the company called "toxic." Investors cheered the restructuring by pushing up its shares almost 22 percent to $3.38 Thursday.

•  Meridian Biosciences of Newtown parlayed a strong business performance into a 20 percent jump in its stock price.

The company won FDA approval for a test that allows for earlier detection of colitis.

It also raised its profit estimate for the year by 20 percent and bumped up its full-year sales outlook by $10 million.

•  Chemed Corp.'s stock continues to bask in investor expectations for its Vitas Healthcare unit, acquired in February. In the first full quarter since the acquisition, Chemed doubled its earnings per share and revenue surged 170 percent. The payoff? A stock price of $55.74, up 15 percent in quarter.

•  NS Group, the Newport-based maker of steel tubing and pipe for the oil and gas industry, rode the coattails of intensified drilling activity during the past quarter. The company posted record quarterly earnings of $20.6 million in the second quarter, and sales rose 68 percent from the same period last year. After a big runup in the first half of 2004, NS shares took a breather in the third quarter, gaining only 13 percent.

The predicament at Delta Air Lines by far ate the biggest hole in the portfolios of investors in Greater Cincinnati, where about 8,000 Delta and Comair employees live. The airline is in the midst of a crucial overhaul to cut costs, reduce debt and avoid bankruptcy. Its stock price, meanwhile, has collapsed, tumbling 54 percent during the third quarter and closing at $3.29 Thursday.

Other big local losers included:

•  Omnicare, the Covington-based supplier of pharmaceuticals to nursing homes. In late July, it reported second-quarter earnings that were 30 percent lower than analysts expected, prompting a one-day stock price drop of 23 percent. The company closed Thursday at $28.36, down 34 percent for the third quarter.

•  Kendle International, the medical testing and consulting firm downtown. Its stock price Thursday - $5.29 - was roughly half what it was in March and was down 30 percent during the quarter. Second-quarter revenue was up, and the company posted $211,000 in net income, compared with a loss in the same period last year. But looking at operations alone, second-quarter profits were 48 percent what they were in 2003.

•  Milacron, the Walnut Hills-based maker of plastic-molding machines. Despite a financial restructuring that helped the company stave off bankruptcy, demand for Milacron's products has been weak. Last week, the company said it expects to post an $8 million third-quarter loss. Its stock closed Thursday at $3.12, down 22 percent for the quarter.

•  Cincinnati Bell. The provider of local telephone, wireless and high-speed Internet service divested operations and shook up its management ranks, but investors remain wary of its high debt burden and competition. The stock ended the quarter at $3.49, down 21 percent.

•  Alderwoods Group, a funeral home and cemetery operator in Cincinnati. The company reported a $6.5 million net loss in the second quarter and a slight drop in revenue. Its stock price fell 19 percent during the third quarter to $9.83.

•  Chiquita Brands, the Cincinnati-based banana producer. The company is struggling under post-bankruptcy leadership. Last month, it lowered cost savings estimates for 2004 and 2005 from $55 million to $20 million. Its stock fell 17 percent during the quarter, closing Thursday at $17.41.

•  Hillenbrand Industries, the casket and hospital bed maker in Batesville, Ind. The company's stock price slumped in mid-September after it lowered its earnings outlook because of higher raw material costs and lower sales. At $50.53 Thursday, the stock was down 16 percent for the quarter.

Staff writers Mike Boyer, James Pilcher, Jeff McKinney, Cliff Peale and John Byczkowski contributed.