Tech Rally Takes It Into The Weekend

Bouncing back from a midday downturn, both “old economy” and tech stocks finished a rough week of trading on a positive note Friday.

The Dow Jones gained 115.30, or 1.2%, to close at 9,504.78, while the Nasdaq rose 31.28, or 1.7%, to 1,928.98. The S&P 500 advanced 22.32, or 2.0%, to 1,139.90.

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Outperforming all the major exchanges was internet.com’s Internet Stock Index, or ISDEX, which gained 3.1% to end the day at 218.88.

Indeed, it was a strong day in general for Internet stocks, as all 13 sectors featured more advancers than decliners. (It’s hard to recall the last time that happened.) For a look at sector breakdowns, visit here.

E-business infrastructure software maker TIBCO Software was the top tech performer, rising 30% to close at $10.44 after the company beat lowered Q1 estimates. TIBX reported pro forma net profits of $3.5 million, or 6 cents per share, compared to recent profit forecasts of 3 cents per share. Analysts had called for a profit of 8 cents per share before the company lowered its guidance earlier this month.

Linux software and services provider Red Hat rode a wave of optimism following news that Q4 revenues more than doubled, while net loss excluding goodwill and acquisition costs was $600,000, or breakeven. Consensus estimates called for a loss of 1 cent per share. RHAT shares finished trading Friday at $5.88, a gain of 12.6%. The stock climbed as high as 36.6% earlier in the day.

Bandwidth management software maker Packeteer plunged 36.5% after the company said it would lose 6 cents to 8 cents per share in the first quarter and that revenue would fall 15% to 20% below Q4 sales. Analysts had expected a profit of 2 cents per share. PKTR closed at $5.13, after reaching a 52-week low of $5 earlier.

And networking infrastructure giant Cisco Systems lost 5.4% to finish at $18.69, the stock’s lowest closing price since November 1998.