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Techs continue rebound
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February 19, 1999: 5:18 p.m. ET
Nasdaq ends week on the rise after rough start; AMD, Gateway in deal
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - High-technology issues rose for a second day Friday, ending a wild week during which investors had cold feet about the sector only to step back in slowly.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 23.05 points to 2,283.60 erasing some of its big slide earlier in the week. The index fell 1.7 percent for the week.
Low-cost computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 5/8 to 17-3/4 before direct-PC vendor Gateway (GTW) said it has chosen AMD as its second supplier of chips, to complement its offerings from AMD rival Intel (INTC). The companies made the announcement after the market close.
Gateway, which had been expected to announce such a accord with AMD, added 3-3/4 to 72-7/8 while Intel fell 1/16 to 128-1/16.
Other top PC makers were mixed: Dell Computer (DELL), whose earnings report set off a tech spill early this week, fell 2-15/16 to 80-1/16.
Elsewhere, Compaq Computer (CPQ) added 9/16 to 41-1/8. Among Dow issues, IBM (IBM) dropped 2-5/8 to 171-5/8 and Hewlett-Packard (HWP) added 3/8 to 68-5/16.
Sidling up to Big Blue was Brio Technology (BRYO), which rocketed up 3 to 20-1/14, or 17 percent, after announcing that IBM will resell its enterprise software product suite, which helps companies analyze data, on a global basis.
In the telecom sector, Ciena (CIEN), a maker of equipment used to improve data and voice transmissions, clambered up 1-9/16 to 22-7/16 after the firm posted a net profit of 2 cents per share after the bell on Thursday. Analysts expected a 1-cent loss.
Ciena's top executive Patrick Nettles, in an interview with CNNfn on Friday, said Ciena - which walked away from a merger with rival Tellabs last year - now sees bright prospects.
Software powerhouse Microsoft (MSFT), ever keeping its eye on legal matters, edged up 1-15/16 to 147-11/16.
A federal judge in California ruled the company should be allowed to distribute the Java software technology that it has developed independent of Sun Microsystems (SUNW), which created the programming language. Sun added 2-7/16 to close at 97-7/16.
Internet IPOs roll again
Firing on all cylinders Friday was the Wall Street initial public offering machine, with the launch of two new Internet-related issues that garnered investor delight.
A relative rarity in the Internet sector because it is profitable, WebTrends (WEBT), a maker of software that allows businesses to see who is accessing their Web sites, rose to 27-1/16, a 108-percent gain from its offering price of $13 per share.
And Vignette (VIGN), also a Web software maker, soared to 42-11/16, up 125 percent from its offering price of 19. Its products let businesses to personalize Web sites with data for specific clients.
More weather-beaten Internet issues were more tempered but solid overall. Amazon.com (AMZN) was up 12-3/8 to 101-7/8, Yahoo! (YHOO) added 6-7/16 to 135-5/16, and America Online (AOL) rose 4-1/2 to 160-1/4. 
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