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CNNfn market movers
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August 3, 1998: 2:47 p.m. ET
Key market movers in the grocery store and technology circle Monday
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Grocery store stocks -- of the Wall Street kind -- were selling off the shelves Monday while two prospective mergers between drug distributors sent some of their shares looking for rehab.
American Stores (ASC) found investors by the cart-load Monday, rising 4-7/8 to 28-1/16 after fellow chain Albertson's (ABS) said it will buy American Stores for $11.7 billion in stock and debt. Albertson's was off 2-1/4 to 45-3/4.
The deal displaces Kroger (KR) as the nation's top grocery store chain, but Kroger shares got a lift from the merger, rising 2-5/16 to 49-5/8. One analyst last week said Kroger, too, is a prime merger candidate.
Rival Safeway (SWY) was off 1/16 to 44-11/16 and Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea -- also known as A&P -- (GAP) was off 1/4 at 29-13/16.
Procter & Gamble (PG), whose products are a staple of the grocery store, was beaten down for the third straight day, down 2 to 77-3/8, after the maker of Pampers diapers and Oil of Olay skin-care cream lowered its earnings growth forecast for the next quarter last Thursday.
Sara Lee (SLE) gained 2-7/8 to 53 after the consumer products maker said it plans to revamp its household and body-care lines, get rid of some European and Australian divisions and buy back at least $3 billion in stock through the year 2000.
CellStar (CLST) sank 1-15/16 to 12-1/16 after the vendor of wireless handsets said Monday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its compliance with securities law. The company said it expects the focus to be a reported loss in 1995 and 1996.
Vanstar (VST) lost 1-13/16 to 8-3/16 after warning it expects an operating loss of up to 25 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter, greater than earlier estimates.
The provider of computer infrastructure management said it will reduce its workforce and eliminate some facilities to cut costs by at least $50 million.
And GTS Duratek (DRTK) slipped into hazardous territory, falling 2-13/16 to 6-15/16 after the waste treatment company warned of a second-quarter loss of 6 cents a share. Analysts had expected a profit.
Eastman Kodak (EK) was off 2-3/16 to 81-11/16 after the photographic equipment and film maker said it will pay $520 million for the medical imaging business of Imation (IMN), whose shares were up 1-5/16 to 17-1/8.
Fellow Dow component IBM (IBM) rose 1-5/8 to 134-1/8 after Big Blue said it has a new technology that will allow development of better voice recognition software, smaller cell phones with longer-lasting batteries, and new portable gadgets for tapping the Internet.
Ibis Technology (IBIS), which sells silicon wafers that are the basis of chips used in IBM's new technology, took off along with IBM Monday, gaining 2-5/8 to 11-3/8.
Orbotech (ORBKF) gained 3/4 to 34-3/8 after the maker of automatic optical inspection systems posted earnings of 75 cents a share in its second quarter, ahead of analysts' estimates.
After several days in the buyout-rumor mill, Stratus Computer (SRA) roared up 3-1/16 to 31-15/16 after the Internet equipment supplier Ascend Communications (ASND) announced early Monday it will buy the caller-ID technology firm for $822 million in stock. Ascend shares were up 3/32 to 44-3/8.
There were nasty drug-merger withdrawal symptoms for two generic drug companies Monday, the first trading day after the Federal Trade Commission said their buyouts would cause prices to rise.
AmeriSource Health (AAS) dropped 20, more than 26 percent, to 56-1/8 after would-be buyer McKesson (MCK) said it now is unlikely to pursue that merger. McKesson was up 1-1/8 to 81-3/4.
Same story for Bergen Brunswig (BBC), sinking 9, or nearly 17 percent, to 44. It was a takeover target of Cardinal Health (CAH). Cardinal Health was off 1-3/4 to 94-5/16. 
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