Net Stocks in Broad Rally Ahead of Fed Meeting

Investors were driving Internets higher across the board Tuesday in an apparent show of confidence that any Federal Reserve action has been factored into the markets.

The Federal Reserve's open market committee meets this afternoon and is set to make an announcement on interest rates shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern. The general consensus is the group will leave rates unchanged.

Just before noon, internet.com's Internet Stock Index was up 9.01, or 1.71 percent, to 536.72, the Nasdaq Composite had climbed 23.83 to 2,819.80 and the Dow Jones industrial average was up 62.05 to 10,463.28.

Leaders were in a broad-based rally, with America Online Inc. (AOL) up 2-1/4 to 111-3/8. The company introduced version 5.0 of its access software.

Others climbing were Ariba Inc. (ARBA) up 2-13/16 to 165-11/16, Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) climbing 4-3/8 to 121-7/16, Broadvision Inc. (BVSN) had climbed 3-7/16 to 148-13/16, Doubleclick Inc. (DCLK) higher by 5-1/4 to 120, Verisign Inc. (VRSN) up 5-5/8 to 108-1/2 and Inktomi Corp. (INKT) had gained 3-3/16 to 118-1/4.

Preview Travel (PTVL) gained another 2-1/8 to 26-7/16 on top of Monday's 38 percent climb. Investors continue to applaud the company's merger with Sabre's Travelocity.

Beyond.com Corp. (BYND) was up 1-9/16 to 13-9/16. The company announced plans to create a new area on its online store that will focus on handheld Net devices.

Drugstore.com (DSCM) had jumped 4-3/16 to 43-3/16 after Thomas Weisel Partners' Chris Vroom initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and set an $80, 12-month price target.

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