Cautious Optimism: Tech Investors Showing Some Restraint
Happy, but not ecstatic -- perhaps investors in technology were finally showing some restraint.
In recent trading,
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 24.06, or 2.7%, to 919.17. The
Nasdaq
was up 100.67, or 2.6%, to 3961.33. But our own
James Cramer
was not buying into what he claimed was a end-of-the-month markup day last Friday, preferring to let the market
come back to him.
According to one technology specialist, there was "cautious optimism" in the market. It was still too early to say the market would be able to sustain the momentum it has picked up over the past few sessions, but he doubted that the recent lows would be tested anytime soon. What will happen in the near-term is difficult to predict, he said, because the tech sector has been doing the things it normally does, only ahead of schedule. He said the rally seen at the beginning of the year was earlier than normal, as was the recent pullback, which he said typically occurs after earnings season. He therefore wondered if the rebound would now occur earlier than usual.
The specialist said the people he is talking to are looking for good, quality stocks rather than the speculative ones that many were jumping into. Some of the names recommended were
VeriSign
(VRSN) - Get Report
,
Software.com
(SWCM)
, and
Selectica
(SLTC)
. He said he also likes fiber optics, including
E-Tek Dynamics
(ETEK)
,
JDS Uniphase
(JDSU)
and
Nortel Networks
(NT)
.
Among the better performers Monday,
Sycamore Networks
(SCMR)
was up 6 5/8, 8.4%, to 85 1/8;
E.piphany
(EPNY)
was up 10 9/16, or 15.9%, to 76 3/8;
Ariba
(ARBA)
was up 7, or 9%, at 81; and
AskJeeves
(ASKJ)
was up 5 5/8, or 19%, at 36.
Traditional Internet plays were mixed.
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
was down 3 5/8, or 10.5%, at 38 3/16,
America Online
(AOL)
was down 13/16, or 1.4%, at 59 3/6, while
CNet
(CNET) - Get Report
was up 3 5/8, or 10.5%, at 38 3/16.
eBay
(EBAY) - Get Report
was down 4 5/16, or 2.7%, at 154 7/8, after being ripped in
Barron's
over the weekend. The article, penned by Mark Veverka, indicated that the online auctioneer had growth and valuation issues to contend with.
