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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