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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John F. Dowd who wrote (81294)	5/21/1999 2:07:00 AM
From: Brian Malloy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

There appears to be continued worries about inflation hurting tech stocks. The drop hit technology in the last thirty minutes. I don't think it signals a major change. In fact this little sell off especially in the semis could mean we are going higher. Message 9628552 From CNNFN Techs lack resolve In the stock market, technology shares found it difficult to regain bullish momentum after a narrowing growth outlook and profit margins at major computer maker Dell (DELL) sparked selling throughout the computer sector Wednesday. On Thursday, the weakness continued, pushing shares of Dell rival Compaq (CPQ) down 7/16 to 25-9/16 while Gateway (GTW) shed 3-13/16 to 61-1/4 and Dell itself lost 1-9/16 to 38-1/4. Among Dow computer makers, IBM (IBM) gave up 2-7/8 to 233 but Hewlett Packard (HWP) gained 3-1/6 to 94. Other technology bellwethers were mixed. Intel (INTC) shares slipped 2 to 57-11/16, part of a general slide in semiconductor stocks that took AMD (AMD) down 1-1/4 to 20-3/8 and Micron Technology (MU) down 1-1/8 to 38. Chip-equipment maker Etec Systems (ETEC) fed into the silicon selling, with shares falling 5-5/8, or nearly 16 percent, to 30-3/8 after the company reported fiscal third-quarter profits that missed Wall Street expectations by a penny a share. CS First Boston downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy."

To: John F. Dowd who wrote (81294)	5/21/1999 2:39:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

John - Re: "board I couldn't see why INTC was pounded for a 2 point loss..." AMong other things, tomorrow is May's option expiration date. And for thoughts on that, here is Jim Cramer ! {======================================} The Battle in the Options Pits By James J. Cramer 5/20/99 3:15 PM ET Copyright The Street.Com The battles are all behind the scenes on days like today, in the options pits. There is gigantic open interest in some important names -- names like Intel (INTC:Nasdaq) and Microsoft (MSFT:Nasdaq) with calls that expire tomorrow. What's the effect? Let's take Intel, which has an open interest of 25,000 May 60 calls. That means there are tons of people betting that this stock is not going above 60. (Each call has someone long it and someone short it. If you thought that the stock was about to ramp, you would buy your short call in.) Microsoft has 31,000 of the 80s in open interest. Again,just think lid. It means it will be mighty hard to chew through all of that stock. It is more than likely, that, barring any strange goings-on, these stocks are stuck here until after the close Friday when calls expire. It is often like that with calls. I always check open interest in calls (we get it from our ILX terminals) as we get closer to expiration. When I see big piles of calls, I stop being frustrated with the lack of movement and accept that the lid of calls have "pinned" the strike. I have seen stocks bust through calls periodically. But it is rarely because of the "market." If you knew, for instance, that the government was going to break news with Microsoft tonight, you might be tempted by those calls. However, I have no idea how you would know that without being an insider, and therefore you shouldn't be trading anyway. So, I expect no fireworks from these Nasdaq bellwethers for the next 25 hours. James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-founder of TheStreet.com. At time of publication, his fund was long Microsoft. His fund often buys and sells securities that are the subject of his columns, both before and after the columns are published, and the positions that his fund takes may change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to comment on his column at letters@thestreet.com. {===================================} Paul