Nets, Techs Again Power Market Higher

Technology and Internet shares fended off sellers to power the market higher for the second straight day.

The ISDEX gained 13 to 816, and the Nasdaq rose 42 to 4053. The S&P 500 added 2 to 1508, and the Dow rose 38 to 11,182. Volume declined to 821 million shares on the NYSE, but rose to 1.52 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 14 to 13 on the Big Board and 22 to 17 on the Nasdaq. July Durable Orders came in much weaker than expected, falling 12.4%. For earnings reports, visit our earnings calendar and reported earnings. For after hours quotes and news, visit our new after hours trading site.

After the close, Sycamore Networks lost 3 to 156 despite beating estimates by 2 cents with 8-cent-per-share earnings.

NextLevel Communications lost more than half its value, falling 49 3/4 to 41 13/16 on Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers downgrades on concern that partner Qwest may limit VDSL roll-outs. NextLevel supplier Broadcom fell to 256 on the news, but recovered to trade up 3 21/64 to 273 1/4.

FreeMarkets gained 4 to 58 1/2 on a Merrill Lynch Buy rating after a positive meeting with the company.

Art Technology Group added 4 1/4 to 89 1/4 on an ABN Amro Outperform rating and $115 price target.

VA Linux Systems beat estimates by a nickel with a 10-cent loss, and W.R. Hambrecht upgraded the stock to Strong Buy. The stock bolted 6 3/4 to 43 7/8. Red Hat rose 1 7/8 to 24 11/16.

Vicinity fell 2 1/4 to 11 3/4 after reporting a loss in line with estimates at 17 cents a share. Bear Stearns and USB Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock.

Verio slipped 7/64 to 59 3/4 after President Clinton approved the company’s merger with Japan’s NTT at $60 a share.

Amazon.com added 3/4 to 39 9/16 after launching a new car-buying service with Greenlight.com.

WebEx gained 5 1/2 to 40 1/2 on a CIBC World Markets Buy rating and $50 price target. Interland rose 1 3/4 to 8 3/4 on PaineWebber and Bear Stearns Buy ratings.

Homestore.com continued its strong run, up 5 9/16 to 46 5/8 on word that the company’s business is running ahead of expectations.

Palm gained 1 13/16 to 39 3/4 on a Goldman Sachs Recommended List rating.

Shares of Akamai , off 4 5/16 to 65, continued to slip a day after the company was left out of the Inktomi-led Content Bridge network. The company also faces lock-up concerns.

Some technical comments on the market: We’ve talked about the huge potential moves in the Dow and S&P 500 based on their massive topping patterns, setting up potential moves of 2000 and 200+ points, respectively. Well, the Nasdaq is now setting up a much bigger percentage move of about 2000 points, 50% up or down from here. As of today, we have four touches on the Nasdaq’s downtrend line, at 5132, 5070, 4289 and now at about 4050. The lower boundary has had only two touches, at 3042 and 3521 earlier this month, but it’s enough to give us a pretty clear symmetrical triangle. Based on the high and low points (5132 and 3042), a clean break in either direction could carry the Nasdaq as much as 2000 points in that direction. The upper boundary is 4050 and the lower is 3700, so the Nasdaq has potential upside to 6000 on an upside break or 1700 on a downside break. The apex of the triangle is somewhere in the mid-to-late September timeframe, so we could be set up for a very interesting month. A triangle that goes all the way to its apex loses a lot of its power, so the break is likely to come sooner. Let’s hope for a d

earth of earnings warnings next month.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 continue to poke their heads out above their downtrend lines, but have yet to do so with much force, while the Nasdaq’s rally is staying confined within the downtrend line. More importantly, all three indexes are forming converging boundary lines, or “rising wedges,” meaning that their rallies are likely to run out of steam. For that reason, we are removing the three-week time limit on those bearish formations, since rising wedges take from three weeks to three months to form. A break much below 3925 on the Nasdaq could set up a test with the important trendline at 3700, so watch those levels carefully. A break below 3800 on the Nasdaq 100 could set up a test of the lower boundary of a similar symmetrical triangle at 3500. A break below 1495 on the S&P 500 could carry that index back to 1425; critical support on the S&P 500 is about 1400.

The ISDEX also may be forming a rising wedge here, and ran right up against the lower boundary of a broken rising wedge today. A break much below 770 on the ISDEX would just about break the bearish flag pattern. Support on the ISDEX is at 693-700, 650 and 600. The Dow needs to stay above the 10,950 area to preserve the upside breakout of the diamond formation, and so far it has done that. Resistance on the Dow is just under 11,200.

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