SAN FRANCISCO (09/08/2000) - The Nasdaq gained a nice, round 85 points Thursday, closing with a gain of 2.12 percent over Wednesday's close, at 4098.34. TheStreet.com Inc. (TSCM) 's Internet index fell 0.92 percent, or 7.78 points, to close at 838.29, and the Dow lost 0.45 percent, or 50.77 points, to close at 11259.87.
So what's the news Thursday? Well, IDC gave a boost to PC giants. The research firm published a report predicting that third-quarter demand for PCs would climb to 33.4 million units, an 18.5 percent increase over the same quarter last year. According to the report, Asian and U.S. markets will drive the demand, with back-to-school and holiday sales providing the largest kick. Apple was up $3.56, or 6.1 percent, to $62 on the news. IBM increased $2.12, or 1.62 percent, to $133.56. Compaq grew $1.44, or 4.58 percent, to $32.81, and Dell rose 69 cents, or 1.74 percent, to $40.19.
Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) experienced a disconnect between commentary and performance. According to Weisel analyst David Readerman, who maintains a "strong buy" on Yahoo, "ad spending is still forecasted to be up." Readerman adds, "Yahoo is expected to be a beneficiary of ad-spend consolidation. During this ad-industry deceleration and likely Internet ad-model consolidation phase, we believe that Yahoo will emerge even stronger than its current leadership position. Longer-term, we believe Yahoo has the business model, the global franchise and the management team to continue as a winning stock." But investors didn't read it that way, and Yahoo's stock fell $5.12, or 4.57 percent, to $106.94.
Lauren Cooks Levitan, a Robertson Stephens analyst, reportedly told the Robertson Stephens conference in San Francisco Thursday, "Don't make Amazon your stock to own for the holidays." She described it as a "risky" bet at its current valuation. Amazon fell $2.37, or 5.18 percent, to $43.50.
E-business consulting firms continued their slide, after analysts warned about the sector's increasing troubles last week. Scient Corp. (SCNT) fell $1.75, or 7.78 percent, to $20.75; Viant (VIAN) fell 25 cents, or 3.08 percent, to $7.87, and iXL dropped 50 cents, or 7.21 percent, to $6.44.
BEA Systems Inc. (BEAS) increased $3.25, or 5.13 percent, to $66.56, after announcing it would ally with KPMG Consulting to speed deployment of BEA's b-to-b systems. CMGI (CMGI) fell $3.50, or 7.5 percent, to $43.19 after announcing restructuring plans that include downsizing.