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APf 08/26 1815 Tobacco Stocks Copyright. 1996. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. NEW YORK (AP) - Most tobacco stocks rose Monday as traders got their first chance to react to a tobacco industry victory in a lawsuit seeking damages for an Indiana smoker's cancer death. The verdict was viewed as a key guidepost among Investors who were wondering whether the tide of opinion in America's courtrooms had turned against the tobacco industry. Philip Morrls Cos. Inc., a co-defendant in the lawsuit, was up $2.37 1/2 at $90.37 1/2 a share in on the New York Stock Exchange. Among the other defendants, RJR Nabisco Holdings Co., was up $1.12 1/2 at $26.62 1/2 and Brooke Group PLC was down 37 1/2 cents at $5.50 on the NYSE while the American depository receipts of B.A.T Industries PLC were up 43 3/4 cents at $13.68 3/4 on the American Stock Exchange. ADRs represent shares of foreign companies that are traded In the United States. The stock of tobacco companies not involved in the suit also moved higher. Loews Corp. was up $1.25 at $76 and UST Inc. was up 37 1/2 cents at $31 on the NYSE. - . An Indianapolis jury late Friday rejected six-figure claims against tobacco companies from the widow of Richard Rogers. The suit alleged tobacco makers were to blame for Rogers' smoking addiction that began at age 5 and ended with his death in 1987 at the age of 52. The Indiana case received wide attention from Investors ofter a Florida jury earlier this month awarded $750,000 to a man who got lung cancer after 44 years of smoking. That was only the second time a jury had ruled against the Industry. The first verdict was overturned on appeal. Emanuel Goldman, a Palnewebber analyst in New York, said he wasn't surprised tobacco stocks rose Monday. . "I think the Rogers ruling acts as a reminder to investors that when push comes to shove, juries more often than not are not likely to have a lot of sympathy with tobacco plaintiffs," he said. "After all, they've had 30 years of label warnings." Gary Black, an analyst with Bernstein Research in New York, also said the rise in tobacco stocks was expected after the ruling. "Now the big Issue is could there be a setflement at some point and do people think the Industry finally is ready to cough up some money," he said. (n