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Technology Stocks : IFMX - Investment Discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: david wolf who wrote (11072)	6/17/1998 7:24:00 PM
From: Rusty Johnson	Respond to of 14631

SmartMoney Interactive, Oracle's Good News ... DATABASE SOFTWARE giant Oracle (ORCL) capped a strong day of recovery in the stock markets Wednesday by reporting better-than-expected profits for its fiscal fourth quarter. Earnings per share rose 14% to 41 cents, 3 cents better than the analysts' consensus estimate. Total revenue jumped 24% to $2.4 billion, driven by a 58% spike in sales of applications software. The news came after the Dow snapped back strongly from Monday's steep decline to finish Wednesday trading 164 points higher at 8,829.46. The gain had topped 200 points earlier in the day, but eased off by the closing bell. The main catalyst for the day's rebound was U.S. intervention in the currency markets to help prop up the yen. "The entire explanation is the dollar-yen reversal," says Art Hogan, a trader at Jefferies & Co. The Clinton administration hasn't taken steps to influence currency exchange rates since nearly three years ago, when it attempted to lift the value of the dollar. But with Japan's economy on the verge of meltdown, U.S. officials apparently felt they had no choice. Investors flocked to stocks, while bond prices retreated for a second day. "When there's a strong yen, investors sell bonds and buy stocks," Hogan says. Technology and financial stocks made the biggest move, having seen the most carnage over the last week. Plus, the fact that Abby Joseph Cohen, our No. 1-ranked pundit, reiterated her bullish stance on Tuesday is still in investors' minds, Hogan says. But how long will this rally last? "The market is going to be volatile the whole summer," says Ken Schapiro, president of Condor Capital. "Investors will be buying on the dips, but I wouldn't be chasing this market," he says. While the blue chips and techs are leading the rally -- benefiting from the usual "flight to quality" when uncertainty looms around the market -- small stocks are staging a slower comeback, Schapiro says. The only Dow component in negative territory today was Hewlett-Packard (HWP). Merrill Lynch downgraded the PC maker's shares to near-term Neutral from Accumulate.