(MONEY Magazine) – Los Angeles was the U.S. city with the best-performing stocks in the first three months of 1994, according to the exclusive Money/Nordby Cities Index, which is composed of a series of indexes of stocks in 24 major metropolitan areas. The city's 7.3% return for the quarter is impressive, considering that during the same period, Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slumped 4.4%. L.A. shot to the top spot from 21st place in January, when we introduced the index and ranked the cities by their 1993 gains. L.A. displaces Phoenix, which enjoyed a 36.9% return last year, vs. L.A.'s 4%. With a first-quarter loss of 0.3%, however, Phoenix fell back to eighth position. Los Angeles ranked first because five of the 12 stocks that make up its index scored more than 14%. Carter Hawley Hale Stores, a retailer with estimated 1994 sales of $2.2 billion, was the leader with a 36.8% rise; since emerging from bankruptcy in October 1992, the 83-store chain has rebounded powerfully. L.A.'s other big winners include $3.8 billion fresh-fruit giant Dole Food, up 17.8%, $2.9 billion hospital chain National Medical Enterprises, up 15.2%, First Interstate Bancorp (assets of $53 billion), up 14.2%, and $520 million West Coast restaurant chain Carl Karcher Enterprises, up 14.1%. The second-place finisher, Cincinnati, which rose 3%, has also gained ground since our January survey, when it came in 16th with a 9.9% gain. Three stocks powered Cincinnati's rise this quarter: $2.9 billion Chiquita Brands International soared 46.7% as the outlook for banana prices improved; $24 billion supermarket chain Kroger rose 18.6% owing to stronger retail sales; and $2.7 billion U.S. Shoe advanced 13.3%, buoyed by double-digit sales gains at its LensCrafter eyewear division. Third place for the quarter, with a 1.7% return, goes to the San Francisco Bay Area, which ranked seventh with a 17.8% gain for 1993. Four of the 12 stocks in San Francisco's index -- $8.9 billion Apple Computer, $4.8 billion Consolidated Freightways, $3.8 billion The Gap and $15.3 billion Safeway -- turned in more than 11%. The worst-performing city index was New York City, which fell 12.9%. Sliding from 10th position last year when it posted a 13.9% gain, the Big Apple took the booby prize away from Seattle, which had a 3.1% loss in 1993. Eight of New York's 12 stocks suffered double-digit losses for the quarter. The worst performer was $9 billion Woolworth, which plummeted 40.4% owing to the investigation of alleged accounting irregularities. This index is composed of 12 leading stocks with headquarters in each of the 24 metropolitan areas -- 288 stocks in all. The index tracks only price changes, not dividends, and the stocks in each city index are equally weighted.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: Source: Nordby International, Louisville, Colo. For Data-on-Demand reports on any publicly traded company, call Nordby International at 800-926-7404. CAPTION: HOW 24 LEADING U.S. CITIES RANKED