Markets were shot out of a cannon at the opening bell by a soft May jobs
report that showed a decline in wages, a slowdown in hiring, and a rise in
unemployment. Investors read the tea leaves to indicate some reprieve from
Greenspan and the Fed’s aggressive rate hike stance.
Bellwether Dow components still lagged the unbridled enthusiasm seen in
tech stocks, but the NYSE nevertheless rallied 142.56 to 10,794.76.
Internets were on the receiving end of some heavy volume buying that sent
the Nasdaq rocketing to its best single week in history, up 230.88 to
3,813.38. The ISDEX also enjoyed a banner day, roaring 11.87% higher.
News wires were in a tizzy over rumors that Canada was trying to entice
Microsoft to take a permanent vacation north of
the border. The speculation incorrectly assumed that a move to Canada could
help the software giant avoid the government’s trustbusters. Microsoft was
quick to squash the rumor as completely false, but shares did climb 1-> to
66-5/16.
Business-to-business issues were dragged higher by settling rate hike
jitters, as shares of incubating giant Internet Capital Group rallied 5-29/32 to 36-9/16. B2B software developer Commerce
One ballooned 9-5/16 to 50-5/16, while shares of
PurchasePro.com added 2-5/8 to 25-11/16.
Shares of Interwoven skipped 8-3/16 to 76-3/16,
after the Web content management software maker announced a 2-for-1 stock
split set for the second week in July. Chief rival Vignette , who makes its wildly popular StoryServer management product,
and recently announced a merger deal with OnDisplay , rebounded in sympathy 7-7/16 to 37-7/16.
BroadVision marched 10-1/8 to 53-5/8, after the
one-to-one software company guided CS First Boston’s quarterly estimates
higher. CS First Boston followed suit by reiterating a “strong buy” for the
company citing its execution over rivals in the e-business enabling industry.
Shares of GoTo.com got up and went, adding
5-9/16 to 19-3/4 after Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette reiterated its rating
on the pay-for-play search engine with a “buy.”
Big Blue gave investors something to cheer about in the e-consultant arena.
IBM announced a broad-based technology alliance
with a number of participants that included Razorfish , up 5-7/16 to 21-3/8, Agency.com
,
up 3-1/16 to 17-3/16, and Organic , up 1-7/8 to
13-5/16.
Shares of CDNow soared 2-9/16 to 4-7/8, after
the music e-tailer reported that it expects to round up a major partner
that should help the company with its cash crunch. Indications are that the
list of candidates has been narrowed to just a handful of interested
parties, making a deal imminent.