Clint,
Do you (or anybody else) follow galtf and neon? Bought a few shares of galtf today. They look interesting.
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Internet "blue chips" powered higher Wednesday
for the second day in a row on holiday hopes for e-tail sales and the
conviction that the Internet, and e-tailers, are here to stay.
The Internet stocks have been hot, hot, hot for the
past week. But on Wednesday, the stocks zoomed
through the stratosphere. By the afternoon, Goldman
Sachs Internet Index screamed 5.9 percent higher
while the Amex Internet Index climbed 6 percent.
"I think it's coming to mainstream America that the
Internet will become the dominant media of the
future," said Philip Leigh, vice president of Internet
research at Raymond James.
"There's a realization out there that we're entering the
Christmas retailing period, and that [online sales] are
becoming than a material phenomenon," he added.
Last week, when newly public Internet stocks like
EarthWeb (EWBX) and Theglobe.com (TGLO) set the
stage for the extraordinary rally, but analysts like
Leigh suspected their record-breaking IPOs were
largely the result of enthusiastic Internet day traders.
Leigh thinks Wednesday's rally is a sign that the big institutional investors are
hopping on the band wagon.
Tallyho!
America Online (AOL) led the charge, rising 5 7/8 to 81 1/4, adjusted for
Wednesday's two-for-one stock split.
AOL, the world's largest online services company, painted a rosy holiday
picture for analysts two weeks ago, Leigh said. AOL said that 67 of the 70
merchants in its virtual shopping mall are back for the season this year, adding
that all merchants are paying higher rental rates, and that AOL has also signed
up 43 new merchants for this season.
"Those three things give us a kind of leading indicator into what those
merchants are expecting from online shopping this Christmas," he said.
Shares in Netscape (NSCP) also climbed nearly 26 percent on reports of
closer ties with AOL. Executives from the two companies have been talking
for more than two months, according to The Wall Street Journal. Netscape's
stock was up 7 5/8 to 36 7/8.
America Online may use Netscape's browser alongside, or in lieu of,
Microsoft's (MSFT) Internet Explorer, according to the Journal story. And,
the paper said AOL may make an equity investment in Netscape, along with
receiving seat on its board.
Iris |
