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CNNfn tech stock report
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September 8, 1998: 5:21 p.m. ET
Nasdaq powers back, closing up 6 percent in broad market upswing
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Technology stocks posted strong gains Tuesday, led by Internet stocks and bullish sentiment over Friday's comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
The Nasdaq Composite turned in its biggest one-day point gain ever, gaining more than 94 points, or 6.02 percent, to 1,660.86. The rally put the Nasdaq back on the plus side for the year.
Big name stocks did particularly well Tuesday, including chip giant Intel Corp. (INTC), which closed up 3-21/32 to 81-29/32. A leading technology analyst said technology and global growth will continue to drive U.S. markets, especially helping large-cap stocks.
Software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) added 5-11/32 to end at 101-31/32. The software giant late Tuesday filed a motion asking for the antitrust lawsuit against it to be dismissed, calling it "fatally flawed."
Other strong gainers included networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), which gained 5-3/8 to 94-5/8 and Dell Computer Corp. (DELL), which gained 5-3/16 to 59-15/16. Dell split its stock 2-for-1 after Friday's close.
Internet community GeoCities (GCTY) closed up 1-7/8 to 22-3/4 after Hambrecht & Quist and Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette both began coverage of the company with "buy" ratings. Goldman Sachs also reiterated its "market outperform" rating.
Many of the big name Internet plays rose strongly Tuesday. America Online Inc. (AOL) jumped 9-1/4 to 95-1/4, online book retailer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) jumped 6 to 92-1/4 and search engine designer Inktomi Corp. vaulted 13-3/4 to 67-1/2.
"People are looking to buy stocks that got beaten down and have good growth prospects and the Internet stocks fit that bill,'' said Bob Walberg of Briefing.com in Chicago. "Last week they got creamed.''
Analysts said they fell last week not so much on industry fundamentals as on fears of a recession. Now that those concerns have eased, Internet companies are again being selected for their long-term growth prospects.
All of the major search engines also did well Tuesday. Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) gained 9-1/4 to 84-5/8, Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) gained 3-7/8 to 21, Lycos Inc. (LCOS) added 2-1/4 to 27-11/16 and Excite Inc. (XCIT) jumped 4-1/8 to 30. Also, shares of CMG Information Inc. (CMGI), which holds stakes in a number of Internet plays, jumped 7-1/8 to 49-5/8.
Shares of computer networking company Ascend Communications Inc. (ASND) climbed 6-3/8 to 45-1/8 after the company inked a deal to supply switches for a high-speed network being built by regional telephone operator Bell Atlantic Corp. (BEL).
Ascend rival Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) climbed 6-1/4 to 81-1/2 after BT Alex. Brown & Co. upgraded the company to "buy" from "market perform."
Network Associates Inc. (NETA) shares climbed 2-3/16 to 34-7/16 after antitrust regulators approved its purchase of software utility maker CyberMedia Inc. (CYBR).
Online brokerage E*Trade Group Inc. (EGRP) gained 1-7/16 to 19 after saying it planned to set up operations in Sweden.
--by staff writers Cyrus Afzali and Brendan Hasenstab and wire reports
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