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To: DepyDog who wrote (53408)	12/10/1999 10:21:00 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 152472

Friday December 10 10:11 AM ET Forget Soccer, Britons Aim to Score With Hi-Techs By Patrick Chalmers and David Holmes LONDON (Reuters) - Forget soccer, forget soaring house prices, forget even the weather. In the pubs, bars and pre-Christmas parties of London's financial district the burning issue among brokers is how they are being swamped with calls from small-time investors -- particularly for technology stocks. Fired by the growth in online investment and inspired by an increasing number of media stock tips, Britons have been piling in to stocks in unprecedented numbers as the bull market rolls on. But after the year-long party in which one-day share price gains of 100 percent are not unknown, old hands are warning that some punters may wake up in the New Year with an investment hangover. ``The big question is what happens when the money-go-round stops,' said a senior equity salesman at one brokerage. ``There could be some nasties in the new year.' Britain's Financial Services Authority this week struck an equally cautious tone, advising investors to remember that smaller stocks can be volatile and illiquid. For the time being, however, investors seem happy to chase favored technology and Internet stocks, creating a wave of demand for the likes of Durlacher Corp Plc (DUC.L), an investment bank specializing in the Internet sector. Canny types who bought Durlacher at about 25 pence a year ago would now be holding shares worth around 1,600 pence -- a phenomenal increase of more than 60 times. Media interest has helped stoke the feeding frenzy, with stock tips on the daily TV program Show me the Money, whose run ended last week, regularly sending stocks up 100 percent or more. Even the tabloid Daily Mirror -- more known for covering soap stars and royalty -- has joined the stock tipping fad, and Internet chat lines are growing in popularity. Retail Demand Overloads Brokers Such trends have generated such heavy trading volumes that some retail brokers have been forced to stop accepting new clients. Barclays Stockbrokers said this week it had closed its telephone share dealing service to new private investors, suggesting clients deal online instead. Growing use of Internet trading has encouraged many punters into the market, with The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers estimating small investor deals online at 50,000 last month, five times January levels. ``It's possible a fundamental change is taking place. The message coming home to people is that shares are a good investment,' said Apcims Chief Executive Angela Knight. But Knight warned investors to beware of where they put their money, particularly with the penny shares that have featured among recent gainers. ``Penny shares are penny shares because of the value of the organizations behind them. Companies often that nobody's ever heard of. Too much investment in these could put people off investing in companies of substance,' she said. Setbacks Can Be Rapid Investors may feel they are buying into technologies of the future, yet there can be nasty shocks in store. Take British palm top computer company Psion (PON.L), which tumbled as much as 40 percent for a time on Wednesday when Swedish ally Ericsson unveiled (LMEb.ST) a deal with arch-rival Microsoft Corp (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news). For investors, the Holy Grail remains the early purchase of long-term winners like Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE), whose explosive growth has turned it into Europe's biggest company by stock market value. ``I think there is a fundamental change in the way UK investors are looking at IT stocks whereas two or three years ago they were a bit more skeptical,' said Gareth Williams, UK equity strategist at ABN AMRO. Yet buying stock can be easier said than done and the illiquid nature of many small IT stocks has exaggerated moves. ``The main driver has been a shortage of stock,' said Steve Russell, UK equity strategist with HSBC Securities. ``Investors, some institutional and a lot of individuals, have been trying to buy stock, particularly in high-tech companies, when there are almost no sellers at any price.' Sooner or later though the market must pause for breath, at which time the hardened investors may be sorted from the short-term punters. ``Things can't double or quadruple for ever, and at some time the reality will be that everyone will want to take profits and there will no buyers around,' the senior equity salesman said. ``It's happened in every boom in history.'