Mad Dash to Nasdaq: A Japanese Internet Play Called IIJ Joins In

Two words: Internet and Japan. That's how investors are explaining the success of Internet Initiative Japan (IIJI Quote) since its Aug. 4 initial public offering.

The stock enjoyed a moderately strong IPO: In its first day of trading in U.S. markets, the stock closed 37% above its offering price of 23. But it wasn't until the Nasdaq caught fire that the stock really took off, rising 125% in the last month with little fresh news, just a growing enthusiasm for Asian Internet plays. On Wednesday, the stock slid 4% to 119 9/16 as the Nasdaq, in a rare recent lapse, failed to set a record.

IIJ's jump illustrates the strange story of how tech stocks, especially those associated with the Internet and telecommunication, have taken flight this year. The Nasdaq Composite's 80% surge in the past 12 months has added $2 trillion to the collective market caps of the component stocks. The bulk of that amount has rushed into shares of tech companies positioned to build the information infrastructure expected to drive the economy in coming years. ...