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Gains, losses on Wall St.
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August 3, 1999: 5:00 p.m. ET
Analyst's negative remarks pound Nets, techs, but blue chips work higher
By Staff Writers Malina Poshtova Zang and Robert Scott Martin
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street endured more volatility Tuesday and a mixed ending of the trading day as blue chip issues managed to score modest gains while the technology sector suffered from an analyst's negative report about Internet shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 31.35 points to 10,677.31. Declines blew past advances 1,888 to 1,088 on the New York Stock Exchange, where trading volume reached a relatively heavy 735 million shares.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index tumbled 35.64 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,587.99 and the S&P 500 index lost 5.87 to 1,322.80.
The bond market continued to struggle despite an overnight recovery in the dollar's position against the yen. A pending new supply of corporate debt, as well as the expected announcement Wednesday of the Treasury Department's quarterly debt refunding schedule, weighed on the market, leaving the bellwether 30-year Treasury bond down 14/32 of a point in price. The yield climbed to 6.15 percent from Monday's closing level of 6.11 percent.
The dollar slipped against the euro but gained solid ground against the yen overnight after Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said he had discussed currency markets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.
Investors speculated that the talk, taking place in the wake of the yen's recent sharp ascent, probably focused on curbing the yen, whose excessive strength could dampen Japan's fledgling economic recovery. The United States, however, signaled it was hesitant to support Tokyo's bid to cap the rise in the yen through joint intervention.
Web suffers as deal buzz fades
In the stock market, investors' initial bullish interest in the Internet sector soured after Excite@Home (ATHM) President George Bell denied a Business Week Online report that his company was in talks to merge with rival Yahoo! (YHOO), the biggest Web portal, for more than $17 billion.
Excite@Home shares cut their earlier gains to close up a modest 7/16 at 43-3/8, while Yahoo! fell 6-15/16 to 125-3/8 as part of a general retreat from online shares.
E-broker Ameritrade (AMTD) lost 2-3/4 to 21-1/4 after Credit Suisse First Boston forecast a short-term decline in Web stock-trading volume due to ongoing weakness in the Internet sector, a favorite play for wired traders. The research firm doesn't expect volume to pick up again until mid-autumn.
Shares of rival E*Trade (EGRP) tumbled 4-5/16, or nearly 15 percent, to 24-11/16. Charles Schwab (SCH), the leading online broker, plunged 4-15/16, or nearly 12 percent, to 37-1/2 and DLJdirect (DIR) gave up 2-1/2, also almost 12 percent, to 18-5/8.
America Online (AOL) lost 3-15/16 to 88-15/16 even though the company, the leading Internet service provider, announced a revolutionary move into gas stations, movie theaters and convenience stores. Shares of Radiant Systems (RADS), which will provide AOL with the technology required, 3-3/16, or close to 20 percent, to 19-3/8.
Tech shares off balance
Meanwhile, technology stocks, the market's most volatile performers Monday and a sector battered by selling over the past two weeks, once again delivered a mixed performance.
Among the high-tech heavyweights, shares of IBM (IBM) lost 2-7/8 to 119-3/8 and Hewlett Packard (HWP), the other Dow technology component, climbed 3-3/4 to 108-1/2.
Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) eased 1/16 to 84-3/4, but Intel (INTC), the world's leading computer chip maker, rose 1-5/8 to 72-15/16. Cisco Systems (CSCO) fell 11/16 to 61-1/8 and Dell Computer (DELL) crept down 1/2 to 39-7/16.
As the second-quarter earnings reporting season wound down in the broader market, investors still made time to punish the stocks of companies that disappointed their expectations.
Shares of garbage hauler Waste Management (WMI) sank 1-1/4 to 24-3/16 after the company delivered results that came in at the bottom of twice-lowered forecasts.
And the stock of Cigna (CI) tumbled 5-7/8 to 83-5/8 even after the insurance giant delivered results that exceeded expectations by 10 cents a share. Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to "near-term accumulate" from "near-term buy," citing the company's rising medical cost trends and forecasting a likely rapid decline in Cigna's other operations in the second half.
(Click here for a look at today's list of CNNfn market movers.)
(Click here for a look at today's CNNfn technology stocks report.) 
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