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CNNfn market movers
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April 1, 1999: 2:41 p.m. ET
Internet firms rule the day while Iona Technologies, Balance Bar are cut in half
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Yahoo! Inc.'s agreement to acquire Broadcast .com placed several Internet and technology firms on the wave to prosperity Thursday, leaving only those with earnings surprises lurching in their wake.
Enticed by the converging technologies married in the Yahoo deal , Wall Street immediately lifted a number of Internet-related firms, including RealNetworks, maker of the widely-used RealPlayer technology, and WebTrends Corp., a maker of Internet management software.
In early afternoon trading, RealNetworks (RNWK) was up 25-12/16 to 148 while WebTrends (WEBT) rose 9-11/16 to 58-5/16. Other rising Internet firms included Ziff-Davis Inc.- ZDNet (ZDZ), up 7-7/16 to 43-7/16, and InterVu Inc. (ITVU), up 12 to 56-3/8.
Several Internet related companies also helped their own cause. ISS Group Inc. (ISSX), the parent company of Internet Security Systems Inc., climbed 1-1/4 to 80-3/4 after announcing a two-for-one stock split.
And 1-800 Contacts Inc. (CTAC) stock rose 4-7/8 to 17-1/8 after the direct marketer of contact lenses said Internet sales would push first-quarter earnings and revenues above previous expectations.
High on technology, not on earnings
But the earnings picture wasn't so bright for a number of other companies that were immediately reeled back in by traders.
Iona Technologies fell 16 to 14-3/8 after it said its first-quarter earnings would fall short of estimates. A similar announcement from Balance Bar Inc. had a similar result. The maker of nutritional snacks was off 3-3/8 to 6-7/16 in early afternoon trading.
Others floundering on Wall Street included Silicon Graphics (SGI), expected to post a fiscal third-quarter loss of 27 to 32 cents per share, and Secure Computing Corp. (SCUR), dropped to a "neutral" rating from "buy" by PaineWebber Thursday, after disclosing it expects to report a first-quarter loss due to lower-than-expected revenue.
Those issues were down 3-7/16 to 13-1/8 and 4-5/8 to 5-7/8 respectively.
Electronics, Biotime win approval
In other news, a handful of electronic equipment and health care companies found favor with investors.
Electronic-equipment maker Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) was up 3-1/4 to 76 after it said it had targeted an 8 percent return-on-equity ratio within the next four years.
Others rising included Sony Corp. (SNE), up 4-15/16 to 95-5/8, and Texas Instruments (TXN), up 3-1/2 to 102-3/4.
Biotime Inc.'s (BTIM) new blood plasma volume expander had a similar effect on its stock price as investors pushed shares up 1 1/4 to 17-¾ after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted permission to market the device. 
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