Street Life
Wednesday, June 16, 1999, 7:00 p.m.
NASDAQ Scores a Record One-Day Gain
By Nelson Schwartz
Just when you thought that Net mania was
history, and that rising rates were going
to kill this market, boom! Government CPI
figures show little danger of inflation,
and everybody decides it's safe to buy again.
Talk about a mood swing--the NASDAQ scored
its biggest single-day point gain ever
Wednesday, rising 103.16, to 2517.83, while
the Dow also soared, jumping 190, to 10784.90.
The S&P 500 vaulted 29.25, to 1330.41. Here's
what we've been following:
BACK FROM THE DEAD.... I hope you didn't sell
your Net names after Monday's wipeout. Man,
did they run. Amazon rose 15 3/16, to $111 11/16,
Yahoo! was up 16 3/8, to $141 5/8, and eBay
gained 13 1/4, to finish at $148 3/4. Other
winners including Priceline, which beamed up
10 1/16, to $88 1/2, and @Home, up a stunning
14 11/16, to $94 3/4. I wonder who was doing
more of the buying--institutions or individuals?
Old-line tech also did very well, with Microsoft
up 3 5/16, to $81, and Cisco up 5 1/16, to
$116 1/4. Intel added 4, to finish at $59 11/16,
a gain of more than 7%
NOT EVERYONE IS SMILING.... Although most
stories are likely to focus on the big Net
stock turnaround, one overlooked angle is the
way in which smaller Net names FAILED to
participate. Take TheStreet.com, which rose
only 5/16, to $25 13/16. (What's up with that,
Cramu?) Or Beyond.com, up a paltry 9/16, to
$21 5/16. Even iVillage, which has a 52-week
high of $130, jumped only 1 3/4, to $38. I
think most investors just don't want to mess
with smaller names at this point. They figure
bigger is safer and they're probably right.
TALK ABOUT RELIEF.... You know who was really
happy about Wednesday's Internet stock recovery?
Not just investors, but Internet mutual-fund
managers. These vehicles have been getting
crushed in recent weeks, and money flows have
cooled accordingly. I would still avoid them.
As I wrote in FORTUNE's June 21 issue
(http://www.fortune.com/investor/1999/07/05/str.html),
you're better off in a good tech fund, like
Firsthand Tech Leaders or Fidelity Select
Technology.
Loose Change
Some big splits on the way. After the close
Wednesday, @Home splits 2-for-1. On June 21,
after the close, Cisco is scheduled to split
2-for-1, while Gap will do a 3-for-2.... Oracle,
which reported better-than-expected earnings
Tuesday, was a huge winner. Larry Ellison's
baby rose 7 13/16, to $32 15/16, a 31% gain....
Bank stocks were also very strong. Among the
biggest winners: Chase, up 5 1/4, to $80 3/8,
and Bank of America, up 2 3/8, to $69 11/16....
I checked in with my broker friend Elliot
Scheier at Oscar Gruss Private Client Group.
He's still cautious about the market overall
but has been doing a little buying in names
like AT&T, Intel, TV Guide, and Pfizer. I
don't know that much about TV Guide, but the
other names sound like smart bets.... I'm not
sure about you, but I think The Stones'
"Exile on Main Street" may just be the single
best rock album ever produced. There isn't one
song on it that isn't great. Even "Blood on the
Tracks" by Bob Dylan, another great album, has a
couple of unlistenables.... This just in from
Amy: There was a worm-eating contest at the
BOT yesterday. One guy ate three dozen in two
minutes! The guy who won the contest was a clerk
in the 10-year pit. He held them down 30 minutes.
And won $4 grand. Was it really worth it?
Talk Back to Street Life....
Why let Serwer, Amy, and Nelman have all the fun?!
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