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CNNfn's tech stock report
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July 27, 1998: 6:24 p.m. ET
Phone stocks, telecom equipment and Internet issues take the spotlight
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A stunning afternoon rally Monday popped the technology sector back into the plus column right before the close.
The Nasdaq Composite, which was down as many as 43 points just before noon, rallied to end the session up 2.27 points at 1,933.26.
Even though the Nasdaq is still 4 percent off its recent record, it's still up 23 percent year-to-date.
Much of the day's action was found either in the telecom sector or the big Internet stocks.
Swedish cell phone giant L.M. Ericsson (ERICY) dropped 6-1/8 to 27-9/16, after reporting strong earnings growth but warning that the Asian crisis will take a bite out of its bottom line. That word knocked some of the stuffing out of rival Nokia (NOK.A). It fell 1-1/2 to 90-1/2, after soaring 9 points on Friday.
There was also big news among the phone companies. British Telecom (BTY) surged 8-3/8 to 146-1/8 in New York trading, in reaction to the company's $10 billion joint venture with AT&T.
A BT/AT&T alliance could rachet up the pressure on WorldCom (WCOM) and MCI Communications (MCIC). Both those stocks shed a bit less than a dollar Monday.
GTE (GTE) lost 2-3/16 to 55-3/4 as investors frowned on reports it may merge with Bell Atlantic.
Among the Baby Bells, BellSouth (BLS) rallied 3-3/16 to 72-3/16. It's one of the last local phone companies without a merger partner.
That late rebound really trimmed the losses among certain Internet stocks. For instance, Yahoo! (YHOO) fell as many as 8 points in the morning but finished the session up 7-1/16 at 189-3/16.
Lycos (LCOS) didn't fare so well. It ended down 2-1/2 at 64-3/4. Excite (XCIT) fell 2-3/8 to 42-1/4. And Infoseek (SEEK) finished down 1-7/8 at 27-1/8.
Like Yahoo, Amazon.com (AMZN) shrugged off early losses, closing up 1-5/16 at 125-9/16.
Internet media company CNET (CNWK) lost 3-1/16 to close at 61-11/16.
Recent IPO Broadcast.com (BCST) slipped 7/8 to 60-5/8.
Real Networks (RNWK), which took aim at Microsoft during last week's Senate hearings, fell 5 to 28-1/4. It has now lost almost 13 points in the past three trading sessions, a 31 percent slide.
Intel (INTC) announced a new round of steep price cuts and investors cheered, sending the stock up 3 to 86-1/16.
And cheaper chips will mean more attractive PC prices. Dell Computer (DELL) rallied 5-3/8 to 110-1/4. Gateway (GTW) added 1-13/16 to 54-7/16. IBM (IBM) gained 1-1/4 to 125-1/2.
One small stock gained some serious ground. Information Storage Devices (ISDI) rose 1-15/16 to 7-1/8, a 37-percent gain. The company makes chips that store voice messages for cellular phones and other devices. Taiwan's Winbond International offered to buy the company out for 8-1/4 per share. A decision is expected later this week.
For the latest information on technology, tune into CNNfn's "Digital Jam" weeknights at 7:30 p.m. ET or click here to watch the program via vxtreme.
--by staff writer Brendan Hasenstab
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