Australian Internet stocks were hammered in Thursday
morning trade as US Internet plays continued their fall Wednesday.
The US’ Nasdaq plunged 3.92% or 189.33 points to 4644.67 while internet.com’s Internet Stock Index dropped 67.72, or 6.41
percent, to 988.95 on Wednesday.
After lengthy talks AAPT
(AAP) and US based Internet giant America
Online Inc. (AOL)
announced a 50/50 joint venture to run AOL
Australia Thursday morning. AAPT stock rose just 10 cents
to $10 at midday. No financial details regarding the joint venture
were made available but are expected later in the day.
Jumbomall.com (JUM)
leapt 13.9% to 41 cents after signing a heads of agreement with
Samsung Corp. to release
and market an Internet based telephone system, the Jumbo i2 Phone.
The Jumbo i2 phone utilizes Internet Protocol to provide cheap
telephone calls. A special handset will allow one user to remotely
walk another through web sites.
Secure Networks
(SNX) hit a high of $19.90 Tuesday on the back of news that it
will be included in the revamped ASX
200 Index (ASX). However, by midday Thursday profit takers
had pushed the stock down to $14.10, off $2.64 or 15.7% for
the day.
Thursday’s miner in the spotlight was General Gold Resources
(GGR). At midday the stock was down 8.5% at 9.6 cents after hitting
an intraday high of 12.5 cents. General Gold announced it will
invest $500,000 for a 25% stake in Internet directory product
Smart Guide 2000. Volumes on the stock have been uncharacteristically
heavy over the past 2 days.
Stock in Queste Communications
(QUE), Chariot Internet
(CTI) and Central
Exchange (CXL) leapt on news that Central Exchange has signed
a memorandum of understanding with Chariot to create an Internet-based
national telephony network. At midday CXL was up 10.1% to 38
cents, Chariot 7.6% to $1.98 and Queste (a large stake holder
in CXL) 1.85% to 55 cents.
Coolgardie Gold (COG) continued its rise, bucking the general
Internet trend. At midday Coolgardie was up 12.2% to 23 cents
after announcing it is increasing its stake in Sm@rtTrans
to 45%. Sm@rtTrans is now trialing an Internet version of its
route optimization product, e-route.
Sausage Software (SAS)
and Solution 6 (SOH) were
among the hardest hit by the Thursday morning down turn in Internet
and technology stocks. Sausage fell 7.1% or 49 cents to $6.41
and Solution 6 6.5% or 80.7 cents to $11.55 at midday.
