Nasdaq sparkles as Internet stocks strengthen
Reuters Story - September 22, 1998 17:08
NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq sparkled Tuesday as a rally among Internet shares raised the technology
sector higher amid weakness in blue chips and big cap stocks.
The Nasdaq Composite index closed with a gain of 17.35 points, or 1.03 percent, to 1697.78. Breadth was also positive, with
advancing issues leading declines 2,381 to 1,777.
CIENA Corp was the most actively traded issue, rising 4-9/16 to 15-9/16 after announcing a contract to supply to Japan
Telecom Co. Ltd. .
Analysts also said there were rumors that CIENA could be a takeover target after its failed merger with Tellabs Inc. . Tellabs
closed tat 46-7/8, up 2-13/16.
A rally in Internet stocks, which have been recovering from sharp drops in late August, was led by Yahoo Inc. , which gained
6-5/8 to 102-15/16.
Amazon.com firmed 2-11/16 to 88-3/16 and Lycos Inc. rose 2-3/16 to 27-7/8.
Big cap technology stocks were flat to weaker in a mixed market awaiting possible news about interest rates Wednesday,
when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is scheduled to testify before Congress.
Dell Computer rose 2/16 to 60-1/16, while Microsoft Corp rose 1-5/16 to 109-3/16 and bellwether Intel Corp lost 1-1/16 to
83-9/16.
Meanwhile, small caps strengthened. The Russell 2000 index of smaller cap issues rose 5.6 points, or 1.54 percent, to 368.24. |
