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Techs lead Nasdaq rally
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February 3, 2000: 6:45 p.m. ET
Wednesday's Fed action fades into memory as investors pump up sector
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Dot.coms and semiconductors led a strong rally in the technology sector Thursday as investors shrugged off Wednesday's interest-rate hike and went on a buying spree.
Building on the momentum it picked up Wednesday afternoon, after the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point hike in short-term interest rates, the tech-rich Nasdaq composite index soared 3.4 percent Thursday, ending 137.02 higher at 4,210.98, its third largest one-day point gain.
"After the announcement yesterday, the tech stocks were the stars, and they were really rocking today," said Brian Finnerty, head of Nasdaq trading at C.E. Unterberg, Towbin.
Amazon leads dot.com charge
 Amazon.com was the biggest Nasdaq mover Thursday, ticking up 14-3/4, or 21.2 percent, to 84-3/16. The online retailing giant on Wednesday posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter operating loss, but executives painted a more positive picture for the company moving into 2000.
That was enough to placate some market watchers. Several Wall Street analysts weighed in with upgrades, including Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget, who raised his near-term rating on the stock to "buy" from "accumulate."
In an interview on CNNfn's In the Money program Thursday, Blodget said the feeling in the analytical community is that Amazon's losses should continue to narrow through the remainder of the year. [257K WAV or 257K AIFF]
Similar bullish comments poured in from analysts at Banc of America Montgomery, Bear Stearns, Paine Webber, Credit Suisse First Boston, CIBC World Markets and JP Morgan.
Click here for a look at today's upgrades.
Other winners in the Internet segment Thursday included Web portal Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), which ticked up 32-1/4, or 9.8 percent, to 360-1/4; Verity (VRTY: Research, Estimates), which advanced 6-25/32 to 45-17/32, a 17.5 percent rise on the day; online auctioneer eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates), up 14, or percent at 165; and uBid (UBID: Research, Estimates), a company that conducts online auctions for companies' excess merchandise which added 2-1/16 to 25-15/16, an 8.6 percent rise on the day.
Business to business Web ventures also ended mostly higher Thursday. Shares of VerticalNet (VERT: Research, Estimates) ticked up 6-11/16, or 2.9 percent, to 239-11/16. Ariba (ARBA: Research, Estimates) added to 2-13/16 to 175-1/8. Shares of Internet Capital Group (ICGE: Research, Estimates) gained more than 16 percent, closing up 18 at 130. Razorfish (RAZF: Research, Estimates) shares gained 1-13/16, or 4.5 percent, closing at 41-3/4. And OpenMarket (OMKT: Research, Estimates) advanced 1-5/8 to 58-5/8, a 2.8 percent rise on the day.
Meanwhile, shares of Freemarkets (FMKT: Research, Estimates), which conducts B2B online auctions for buyers of industrial parts, raw materials and commodities, slipped 2-3/4 to 224, a 1.2 percent loss on the day.
 Also Finishing lower Thursday were America Online (AOL: Research, Estimates), which ticked down 7/8, or 1.4 percent to 60 and Versant (VSNT: Research, Estimates), which edged down 1/4 to 8-11/16, a 2.8 percent slide on the day.
The Dow Jones composite Internet index ended the session 19.29 higher at 413.63, a 4.9 percent rise on the day.
Chip, computer makers soar
Semiconductor stocks advanced even more sharply on Thursday, with gains spreading throughout the sector.
Shares of Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) added 4-1/8, or 4.1 percent, to 104-3/16 after the chip giant announced a $1.5 billion supply agreement with Telefon AB LM Ericsson, the world's No. 3 cellular phone maker. Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Research, Estimates), Intel's major rival in the market for PC microprocessors, ticked up 3-1/8 to 39-3/16, an 8.6 percent rise on the day.
Suppliers of analog semiconductors, which are used to convert real-world signals such as images and sound into a digital format usable by computers and other electronic devices, also posted sharp gains.
Analog Devices (ADI: Research, Estimates) shares added 9-11/16 to 105-15/16, a 10 percent gain on the day. National Semiconductor (NSM: Research, Estimates) advanced 3-15/16, or 7.1 percent, to 59-3/16. Maxim added 1-11/16 to 53-3/4, a 3.2 percent rise on the day. And PMC-Sierra (PMCS: Research, Estimates) shares ticked up 10-7/16, or 4.8 percent, to 229-11/16.
 Among the few chip losers Thursday were Micrel (MCRL: Research, Estimates), which slipped 1-1/6 to 77, and Vitesse (VTSS: Research, Estimates), which ended the session 1/8 lower at 49-15/16.
Computer equipment makers also ended broadly higher Thursday, sending the Goldman Sachs computer hardware index up 15.27 to 521.5, a 3 percent rise on the day.
Hewlett-Packard (HWP: Research, Estimates) got a lift on news that the company had teamed up with Eastman Kodak (EK: Research, Estimates) to develop and manufacture low-cost digital photo finishing equipment.
HP advanced 2-15/16 to 113-1/2, a 2.7 percent rise on the day, while Kodak shares added 1-5/8 to 63-1/8.
Elsewhere among computer equipment makers Thursday, shares of Apple (AAPL: Research, Estimates) climbed 4.5 percent higher, ending up 4-1/2 at 103-5/16; Gateway (GTW: Research, Estimates) advanced nearly 6 percent, finishing 3-1/2 higher at 63-1/4; IBM ticked up 3-1/4 to 116-3/4; Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates) added 3/8 to 38-1/2, a 1 percent rise on the day; and Compaq (CPQ: Research, Estimates) shares finished up ½, or 1.8 percent higher, at 28.
VA Linux slips after Andover buy
Shares of VA Linux (LNUX: Research, Estimates), which makes systems and
VA Linux , a provider of hardware, software and services using the Linux operating system, slipped 8-7/8, or 6.5 percent, to 128 after the company announced plans to acquire Andover.Net (ANDN: Research, Estimates), which operates a network of Web sites providing news, information, products and services to technology-oriented users.
VA Linux will buy the company in a stock and cash deal worth $800 million. Meanwhile, shares of Andover.net roared up more than 25 percent, ending 9-1/8 higher at 45-1/8.
Shares of RedHat (RHAT: Research, Estimates), the best-known distributor of Linux software, finished 9-3/8, or 8.7 percent, lower at 98-5/8.
Elsewhere among software companies Thursday: I2 Technologies (ITWO: Research, Estimates), rose 36-3/8, or 16.5 percent, to 256-3/8, after it announced plans to team with Siebel (SEBL: Research, Estimates) Systems to provide Internet business solutions to corporate clients. Siebel shares closed 8-15/16, or 9.3 percent, to 105-1/4. 
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