Early market comment:
Internet stocks surge at post-holiday
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NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Internet stocks surged on
Monday, boosted by reports of strong online retail sales over the
Christmas holidays.
''Last week there was a positive feeling about Internet-related sales because people seemed to be
getting more comfortable with making a purchase online,'' said Arthur Newman, an Internet analyst
with Gerard Klauer Mattison in New York.
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN - news), the book, video and music online retailing pioneer, was
up $9.94 to $334.75 in early Nasdaq stock market trading.
SkyMall Inc. (Nasdaq:SKYM - news), a catalog company that primarily caters to airline
passengers, was up $16.94 to $29.50. It said its 1998 Internet sales rose some 600 percent, to
$2.1 million, out of expected overall sales of $65 million.
Online investment firm E*Trade Group Inc. (Nasdaq:EGRP - news) was up $12.50 at $57.50 after
saying its financial services Web site, Destination E*Trade, had pulled in more than 500,000
members since its September launch.
''Our target is the estimated 10 million to 15 million investors who currently use the Internet for
investment research but continue to execute trades offline,'' Christos Cotsakos, E*trade president
and chief executive, said in a statement.
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), the most visited site on the Internet, was up $13.875 at
$261.
America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news), the world's biggest online services company, was up
$5.81 to $142.50.
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