Nasdaq Record Highlight of Quiet Session

Internet stocks ended up only marginally Monday as the Columbus Day holiday caused many to stay out of the market. The Nasdaq did manage to set a new record giving investors something to cheer about.

internet.com’s Internet Stock Index closed up 0.68, or .12 percent, to 586.15,
the Nasdaq Composite ended up 29.47 closing at a record 2,916.04 and the Dow Jones industrial
average was down 1.58 to 10,648.18.

Ask Jeeves (ASKJ)
was the sector’s standout, soaring 17-7/8 to 65-5/16 after signing a deal to
have Microsoft use its natural-language services for customer support.

Exodus Communications (PHCM)
climbed 7/8 to 70-7/8. The company, which provides high-end Web hosting, was the subject of a bearish article in Barron’s.

Broadvision Inc. (BVSN)
surged 10-13/16 to 182-13/16. Wal-Mart plans to use its products in
its e-commerce initiatives.

As for the Net leaders, Ariba Inc. (ARBA)
ended up 6-15/16 to 183-15/16, Juniper
Networks (JNPR)
gained 31 to 244, Yahoo! Inc.
(YHOO)
ended off 10-3/4 to 181-3/8, Doubleclick Inc. (DCLK)
closed down 4-1/8 to 132-1/4, CMGI Inc.
(CMGI)
lost 2-7/8 to 109-5/8 and America
Online Inc. (AOL) gave back 15/16 to 120-7/8.

Net2Phone (NTOP)
closed up 5-1/4 to 62-1/2 after announcing it will give telephone
companies free equipment to help them handle IP phone calls.

Extreme Networks (EXTR)
rose 4-7/8 to 76-1/4. The company, which develops switching solutions
for local area networks, indicated to analysts that its earnings would
range from 7 to 8 cents, compared to the expectations of 5 cents.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
was down 5/8 to 94-5/16. The company Monday unveiled an electronic
wallet that will store personal information to help facilitate e-commerce
transactions.

Phone.com Inc. (PHCM)
rocketed 25-1/16 to 205 after the company acquired an
Irish maker of wireless application protocol products.

Covad Communications (COVD)
climbed 2-3/4 to 44-5/8. The company announced that the number of its
DSL connections increased by 86%.

Finally, the e-finance sector was coming under pressure following a profit
warning from Knight/Trimark Group Inc. (NITE)
. Knight, the Nasdaq’s biggest market maker, was off 3-19/32 to 26-3/8.
The company, which handles the trades for many online brokers, said a drop
in trades by retail investors will cut its third-quarter earnings
substantially, bringing them below estimates.

Knight is expecting to report a profit of 17 to 19 cents a share, far below
the 30 cents a share analysts had expected.

That news put Internet brokerages under pressure. Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD)
was off 7/8 to 18-7/8, E*Trade Group
Inc. (EGRP)
had fallen 15/16 to 25-15/16, National
Discount Broker Group Inc. (NDB)
was off 5/8 to 25-3/8 and Southwest Securities (SWS)
was down 1/2 to 24-1/4.

On the IPO front, Women.com announced it had lowered its price range from
$10-$12 to $8-$10. The company had been postponed during the late summer.
The lead underwriter is Morgan Stanley.

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