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Techs mixed after late rally
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January 31, 2000: 6:29 p.m. ET
Volatile session yields benefits for chipmakers, but dot-coms lag
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A late-day rally turned out mixed results for technology stocks Monday -- chipmakers and computer-equipment makers advanced, while dot-coms once again failed to catch the wave.
Investors, increasingly jittery about the Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates Tuesday, sent the tech-rich Nasdaq composite index on a wild roller coaster ride which dragged it down into correction territory before staging a strong recovery in the last two hours of trading.
The Nasdaq ended the session up 53.28 at 3,940.35, a 1.4 percent rise on the day after plunging more than 139 points in late-morning trading.
"This is the kind of whipsaw volatility we've been seeing in techs," said Peter Coolidge, senior equity trader at Brean Murray. "It's a case of nerves for traders of technology stocks. They're starting to pull out their hair."
Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM: Research, Estimates) were the most actively traded on the Nasdaq Monday, rising 16-7/16, or nearly 15 percent, to 127, amid reports that the company was close to completing a deal to license its wireless-communications technology to China United Telecommunications.
Meanwhile, Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates), which was the second most actively traded stock on Nasdaq Monday, edged down 3/8 to 97-7/8. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said Monday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the software giant is not seeking to merge with a major media company to counter America Online's (AOL: Research, Estimates) agreement this month to acquire Time Warner.
Dot-coms miss the boat
Despite the broader comeback on the Nasdaq late in the day, Internet stocks for the most part finished lower, with business-to-business outfits leading the way down.
Freemarkets (FMKT: Research, Estimates) ticked down 42-13/16, or 15.75 percent, to 229, even after the company posted a narrower quarterly loss than Wall Street expected.
Before the start of Monday's session, Freemarkets, which conducts online auctions for industrial parts, raw materials, commodities and services, reported a fourth-quarter operating loss of 26 cents per diluted share on revenue that rose 161 percent to $7.8 million. Analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call had expected Freemarkets to lose 31 cents per share during the quarter.
Other business-to-business dot-coms followed Freemarkets. Shares of VerticalNet (VERT: Research, Estimates), which has not yet announced the date that it will release its most recent quarterly earnings, fell 27-3/4 to 238-1/4, a 10.4 percent decline on the day. Razorfish (RAZF: Research, Estimates) ticked down 4-1/2, or 10.4 percent, to 38-3/4. Open Market (OMKT: Research, Estimates) shares slid 3-1/2 to 51-1/2, a 6.4 percent decline on the day.
Internet Capital Group (ICGE: Research, Estimates) a holding company with interests in 35 B2B Internet companies, fell 5 percent, ending 6-1/4 lower at 119. Shares of Ariba (ARBA: Research, Estimates) ticked down 11-1/8 to 162-5/8, a 6.4 percent decline on the day.
Among consumer-oriented Internet companies Monday, Amazon.com (AMZN: Research, Estimates) added 2-7/8 to 64-9/16, a 4.7 percent advance on the day. The Seattle-based online retailer announced Monday that it acquired a 5 percent stake in audio content firm Audible Inc. (ADBL: Research, Estimates) which added 1 to end at 15-1/2, a 7 percent rise on the day.
Shares of online broker E*Trade (EGRP: Research, Estimates) took a hit on Monday, finishing down 1-9/16, or 6.9 percent, at 21-1/16. Web advertising firm DoubleClick (DCLK: Research, Estimates) ticked down 1-13/16, or 1.8 percent, to 98-13/16, after it announced the launch of a new ad network, the Sonar Network.
America Online (AOL: Research, Estimates) ticked down 2-1/18 to 56-3/4 after the company announced a joint partnership with AMR's (AMR: Research, Estimates) American Airlines unit under which it will offer AOL AAdvantage, a combined rewards program for members to accumulate points for frequent-flyer miles, AOL service and consumer products.
The stock benefiting most from that deal Monday was Netcentives (NCNT: Research, Estimates), which surged more than 10 percent, finishing 6-3/8 higher at 68-1/4 after AOL took a stake in the company, which will become the exclusive provider of infrastructure software for the AOL AAdvantage service.
Other dot-com winners on Monday included: CMGI (CMGI: Research, Estimates), an Internet and direct marketing company, which ticked up 7-1/16 to 112-9/16, a 6.7 percent rise on the day; online auctioneer eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates) edged up 2-1/2, or 1.7 percent, to 150-1/16; and shares of Web portal Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates) ended the session up 8-9/16 at 322-1/16, a 2.7 percent rise on the day.
The Dow Jones composite Internet index ended the session down 9.86 at 378.27, a 2.5 percent decline on the day.
Chips buoyed by Intel bull
Semiconductor stocks treaded water for the better part of the day Monday, but ended sharply higher.
The chip segment was lifted in part by bullish comments on Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) from Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Charlie Glavin, who added the microprocessor giant to his firm's "focus list" and reiterated a "strong buy" recommendation on the stock.
"Though painful, Intel has completed a difficult 1999 transition year, and is now poised to demonstrate both its technology and manufacturing prowess - traits that enabled Intel's stock to double in prior cycles," Glavin said in a research note Monday.
Shares of Intel ended the session 5.25 percent higher at 98-15/16, a 5.25 percent rise on the day.
Other chip winners on Monday included: Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Research, Estimates), which ticked up ¾ to 36; Linear Technology (LLTC: Research, Estimates), which added 3-15/16, or 4.3 percent, to 94-11/16; Maxim (MXIM: Research, Estimates), up 15/16 at 50-1/8; Xilinx (XLNX: Research, Estimates), which ticked up 2-9/16 to 45-3/4; and Motorola (MOT: Research, Estimates), which added 8-1/4 to end 6.4 percent higher at 136-1/2.
On the downside among chipmakers Monday, are: Analog Devices (ADI: Research, Estimates), which slipped 2 to 93-1/12, a 2 percent decline on the day; Triquent (TQNT: Research, Estimates), which dropped 7-23/32 to 152-25/32, a 4.8 percent decline on the day; and Micrel, which slid 3-3/8, or 5 percent, to 63-1/4.
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange's semiconductor index, or Soxx, a key barometer of the chip industry, ticked up 29.05 to 778.06, a 3.9 percent rise on the day.
Computer equipment makers also were lifted on Monday, led by strong gains among some of the segment's big names.
Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) added 1-3/16 to 38-7/16, a 3.2 percent rise on the day; shares of Gateway (GTW: Research, Estimates) ticked up 1-1/8 to end 1.9 percent higher at 61-3/16; Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates) added more than 2 percent, finishing 2-1/8 higher at 103-3/4; IBM advanced 11/16 to 112-1/4; meanwhile Hewlett-Packard (HWP: Research, Estimates) edged down ½ to 108-1/4.
Shares of computer networking equipment giant Cisco Systems (CSCO: Research, Estimates) added 5-5/8 to 109-1/2, a 5.4 percent rise on the day. Sun Microsystems ticked up 3-1/2, ending the session 4.6 percent higher at 78-9/16.
Software sags
Many software vendors also missed the upside that came late in Monday's session.
Shares of Broadvision (BVSN: Research, Estimate) slid 6-1/8, or 4.6 percent, to 127-5/16. Late last week, the Redwood City, Calif., company acquired Internet publishing software company Interleaf for $852 million in stock.
Meanwhile, shares of customer-service software developer Siebel Systems (SEBL: Research, Estimates), edged down 1-1/16 to 91-11/16; Verisign (VRSN: Research, Estimates) finished 3-3/32 lower at 161-3/8; and I2 Technologies (ITWO: Research, Estimates) sank 11-15/16, or 5.8 percent, to 192-5/8.
On the upside, shares of entertainment software vendor Electronics Arts (ERTS: Research, Estimates) added more than 15 percent, ending 10-11/16 higher at 81-3/4; and Network software maker Novell (NOVL: Research, Estimates) ticked up 3-3/16 to 33-3/8, a 10.6 percent rise on the day. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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