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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Clint E. who wrote (23641)	9/11/1999 1:57:00 AM
From: Clint E.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 68187

Hardware stocks rally for second day Sun Micro loses top exec; Profit surprise boosts National NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Hardware stocks joined a broader surge by the technology group Friday after sharp advances by Compaq Computer and National Semiconductor prodded the sector higher for the second session. The Goldman Sachs Computer Hardware Index climbed 1.5 percent. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 1.1 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 35.01 points into record territory to close at a new high of 2887.03. See Market Snapshot. Shares of PC maker Compaq Computer (CPQ: news, msgs) were a standout. After idling below 25 for the past six weeks, the stock shot ahead 2 1/4, nearly 10 percent, to 25 3/16. Fellow high-tech bellwether Sun Microsystems (SUNW: news, msgs) rose 1 1/2 to 85 11/16 amid news of a blockbuster executive line-up change. America Online (AOL: news, msgs) said it's shifting Marc Andreessen from his post as chief technology officer, putting the Netscape Communications co-founder into a "strategic adviser" role and replacing him with Bill Raduchel, a top executive from Sun. The loss of 10-year Sun veteran Raduchel comes just weeks after the Silicon Valley powerhouse lost its chief Java technology executive, Alan Baratz. See full story. Separately, Sun said it made a minority investment in Netherlands-based storage software company The Bulldog Group. The amount of the investment wasn't disclosed. "Bulldog has leading, customer-proven technology that fits well with Sun's vision for making massive amounts of data manageable and available on a network," said Janpieter Scheerder, president of Sun's storage division in a statement. Scheerder plans to take a seat on Bulldog's board. The news follows Wednesday's announcement that Dell Computer Corp. (DELL: news, msgs) would buy storage software maker ConvergeNet Technologies for $340 million. Dell shares rose 11/16 to 49 9/16. See related story. Promise of profit boosts National Semi National Semiconductor (NSM: news, msgs) reported a slim first-quarter profit, saying stronger-than-expected bookings and improving market conditions had put the company "ahead of schedule" in its efforts to consistently turn profits. See full story. The chip maker's shares rose 2 5/8 to 34 5/8. The stock traded as high as 35 3/8 -- a level not reached since November 1997. A few chip equipment companies rallied alongside National's 8 gain. Shares of KLA-Tencor (KLAC: news, msgs) got a boost as Milind Bedekar, an analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, raised his first-half 2000 price target for the chip equipment maker. KLA-Tencor rose 1/8 to 71 5/8. Shares traded as high as 73 1/2. The company's orders have picked up in the past three to four weeks, Bedekar reports. It should build backlog in September, then boost orders in the coming months. The analyst also raised first-half price targets for chip equipment makers Lam Research (LRCX: news, msgs) and Etec Systems (ETEC: news, msgs). After posting earlier gains, shares of Lam rose fell 1 3/16 to 62 3/16; Etec fell 1/4 to 44 15/16, also down from an morning jump. Bedekar kept his price targets for all three companies -- KLA-Tencor, Lam and Etec -- unchanged in the second half of next year, due to sales uncertainty in early 2000. "We still do not have clear visibility on how the traditional seasonality in the PC sector during the first half of next year will affect orders for the equipment companies," Bedekar said in his report. Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC: news, msgs) shares stood out among chip equipment stocks, rising 3 1/8, or almost 5 percent, to 69. Mike Tarsala is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch. Cecily Fraser contributed to this report. =========== Friday September 10, 4:02 pm Eastern Time Internets up with analysts' outlooks, rates view By Ian Simpson NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Internet shares moved higher Friday, boosted by an upbeat outlook on interest rates and bullish comments by analysts. The 40-share Dow Jones Internet index (^DJINET - news) was up 7.43 points, or 3.35 percent, at 229.37. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC - news) rose into record territory. The Dow Internet gauge has risen almost 29 percent in the last month but is off by almost the same percentage from its record closing high in April. Analysts said Internet shares were helped by a benign inflation reading from the U.S. Producer Price Index for August. Markets saw the data as suggesting the Federal Reserve would stand pat on interest rates. Internet shares are especially sensitive to higher rates since many of the leading Internet companies are not profitable. A boost in rates raises financing costs. ''Any discussion about increasing rates has been negatively impacting (Internet stocks) over the last three, four, five months,'' said George Rodriguez, senior vice president for equities at Guzman & Co. in Jersey City, N.J. ''Anything that is positive toward rates is going to help them.'' Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Mark Wolfenberger appeared to spark a surge in electronic commerce consulting firms AppNet Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:APNT - news) and Viant Corp. (Nasdaq:VIAN - news) with bullish comments on the companies. He upgraded both stocks to strong buy and called AppNet's momentum ''atomic.'' AppNet was up 18-5/16, or 118 percent, at 33-13/16. Viant rose 12-5/8, or 32 percent, at 52-1/8. Goldman Sachs analyst Gregory Gould called the tone of Viant's business ''very robust.'' In a report, Gould said he expected Viant to top his third-quarter forecasts for revenue and gross margin and report a smaller loss per share than the 7 cents he has forecast. Auctioneer eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY - news) was up 9-12/16 at 154-3/16 after Wachovia Securities started coverage of the stock with a rating of long-term buy and a price target of $208. Internet service provider America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news) was up 1/4 at 96-1/2. The shares slipped slightly after the company said chief technology officer Mark Andreessen was stepping aside to become a part-time strategic adviser.