Tech stocks continue to roll
Technology stocks on Thursday had mixed results but the cumulative advances were enough to push the NASDAQ up 4.09 points to 1745.86, setting a new record for the fifth-straight day.
It was only a minor victory but a symbolic one.
"This week demonstrates how confident investors are in the blue-chip tech stocks and the emerging Internet companies of the future," said Barry Bosak, an analyst at Smith Barney. "Even Greenspan couldn't ruin this party."
After Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the House Budget Committee Wednesday that the economy was due for a cooling period because of a tight labor market and the ever-present fear of inflation, the NASDAQ tumbled a bit but rallied for a 4.49 point gain.
Thursday's big winner was Excite Inc. which gained $5.50 per share to $34.25 after announcing another round of commerce agreements with Internet vendors. Yahoo! Inc., after posting better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday, lost $1.25 per share to $55.50.
A profit warning alert from Rational Software Corp. sent shares into a funk, closing down $2.56 per share to $9.94. Novell picked up $1 per share to $10 while WorldCom was up 31 cents to $37.13.
Compaq Computer Corp. was off 38 cents per share to $76.50. Dell Computer Corp. lost 60 cents per share to $98.13.
Cisco Systems Inc. continued its hot streak with a $1.06 per share jump to $81.88. 3Com Corp. was down 41 cents per share to $55.31 and Ascend Communications Inc. was unchanged at $33.13.
Microsoft Corp. lost 6 cents per share to $138.94. Intel Corp. gained 19 cents per share to $94.75.
GTE Corp. lost $2.44 per share to $49.81 on continued talks of a merger with AT&T. AT&T lost 31 cents per share to $46.19.