Internets Post Steep Losses for Second Consecutive Session
After plunging 93.12 by noon, the Nasdaq showed signs of life as did the ISDEX, recovering from a 46 point drop at mid-day trading. Still, Internet issues were lower for the second straight day.
internet.com's Internet Stock Index lost 25.25, or 2.95 percent, to 831.89, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 24.07 to 3877.62 while the Dow Jones industrial average rebounded 124.72 to 11122.65.
Red Hat Inc. (RHAT) rocketed 41 points higher to 256. The Linux OS provider bought privately-held Hell's Kitchen Systems for $85 million in stock. (Click here for a profile of Open Source/Linux stocks.)
Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) announced it is investing $200 million in EarthLink Network (ELNK). EarthLink will become Apple's exclusive Internet Service Provider (ISP) for its Internet Setup Software. The software is included with all Apple Macintosh computers sold in the U.S. Shares of ELNK rose 2-13/16 to 44-11/16.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) dropped 12-3/16 to 69-3/4. The e-tail giant reported holiday sales more than tripled to $2.6 billion in 1999. However, it still expects to report a loss for the year. Robertson Stephens downgraded the etailer from "strong buy" to "buy."
The Knot Inc. (KNOT) added 1-1/16 to 11-9/16. CS First Boston started coverage of the wedding hub with a "strong buy" rating and $20 price target.
Among the leaders, Ariba Inc. (ARBA) lost 12-5/8 to 172-3/8, Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) was down 6-11/16 to 248-1/2, Broadvision Inc. (BVSN) tumbled 10-7/16 to 159-7/8 and Doubleclick Inc. (DCLK) was off 9-1/16 to 228.
CMGI Inc. (CMGI) lost 10-3/4 to 283, Network Solutions Inc. (NSOL) fell 8-9/16 to 216-9/16 and Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) plunged 33-1/2 to 410-1/2.
There were several bright spots in the sector, however, including Real Networks Inc. (RNWK) , up 11/16 to 118-1/8. Real and Yahoo! Inc. have reached a deal to keep Real content available on Yahoo!'s Broadcast.com unit. Also, Real released the final version of Real Player 7.
priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) was up 5-15/16 to 59-15/16, the company reported fourth-quarter sales of about $168 million, beating original forecasts. It also said it expects to report record airline ticket sales in the fourth quarter.
Net2Phone Inc. (NTOP) was up 3-7/8 to 54-15/16. Matsushita Electric Industrial's Panasonic unit will develop a phone capable of completing long distance calls using either conventional telephone lines or Net2Phone's voice-over-IP service.
Stamps.com (STMP) jumped 4-3/16 to 45-7/16. Goldman Sachs' Jamie Friedman Wednesday raised the stock's rating to "trading buy" and said shares could go past $75.
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