Investors desperately searching for an excuse to buy beaten down Internet
and tech stocks were treated to a dose of weakening economic growth data
with the National Association of Purchasing Management index showing an
impressive slowdown in the manufacturing sector.
Bulls were quick to declare victory by ignoring further rate hike jitters
and buying stocks fast and furious. Blue chips lagged the rally in early
morning trade, but strength in Big Board tech issues pushed the NYSE up
129.87 to 10,652.20. The Nasdaq stole the show through most of the trading
day, with upside movement across the board that sent the Composite climbing
181.59 to 3,582.50, while the ISDEX tacked on 7.55%.
Shares of Akamai Technologiesroared 7-1/8 to
73-7/8, after the networker announced it had inked a deal with
Excite@Hometo boost quality, performance, and
reliability of content delivery over the Internet cable access provider’s
network backbone.
PurchasePro.comadded 1-13/16 to 23-1/16, after
news that the B2B exchange has been selected by Hilton Hotelsto build a hospitality e-marketplace. Rival B2Bs climbed in
sympathy, with shares of Freemarketsedging
1-3/16 to 44-1/2, Aribasoaring 6-3/4 to 58-7/8,
and B2B incubator Internet Capital Groupadding
3-23/32 to 30-21/32.
A bright spot in the IPO patch saw ONI Systems
rocket off its $25 opening price to 82-9/16 by the close. The fiber-optic
component maker’s price range had been set at $21-$23 apiece, before lead
underwriter Goldman Sachs bumped it higher ahead of the debut due to strong
demand.
Shares of Yahoo!leapt 7 to 120-1/16, amidst
speculation that the Net media concern is in discussions to acquire
MyPlay.com. According to the WSJ, terms of the deal have the MP3 Web
site going for roughly $200 million in cash and stock.
Net2Phonejumped 3-5/16 to 32-13/16, after the
Internet telephony start-up reported a better-than-expected loss of $0.21
per share, a penny ahead of markedly revised analyst estimates.
Shares of Verioeased 2-3/16 to 54-11/16, but
were relatively unfazed by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette’s best attempt at
throwing a wrench into the company’s planned multibillion-dollar merger
with Japan’s NTT. The brokerage firm abruptly
downgraded the business ISP from a “buy” to a “sell,” citing the
unlikelihood of a higher bid forthcoming from a competing buyer and
opposition from Capitol Hill.