Net Sector Attempts to Stay Higher in a Down Morning for Stocks

Sleep deprivation should not be a problem in New York this morning since Sunday's

World Series

game was over by about the third inning. Whether traders are hung over after celebrating another

Yankees'

win is another matter.

As for Internet stocks, they were attempting to move higher in what was otherwise a down day for stocks.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was up 8.68, or 1.2%, at 724.90 in early trading.

There were a couple of mergers in the sector that were announced.

Excite@Home

(ATHM) - Get Report

was up 3/16, or 0.5%, at 39 1/4 on news it had purchased online greeting-card site

Bluemountainarts.com

in a deal valued at $780 million in cash and stock. There were

rumors that Bluemountainarts.com was set to be acquired last week, though speculation centered on

eToys

(ETYS)

buying the site for around $1 billion. eToys, which reports earnings on Thursday, was up 2 7/16, or 3.6%, at 70 1/4.

Digital Island

(ISLD)

, which provides Web hosting services, was up 9 3/8, or 41%, at 32 3/8 after it said it was merging with privately held

Sandpiper Networks

, which helps publishers deliver content through the Internet. The stock-for-stock deal was valued at around $621 million. Digital Island will issue approximately 27 million new shares and options for Sandpiper.

Also,

Stamps.com

(STMP) - Get Report

agreed to buy privately held

iShip.com

, a provider of Internet-based shipping technology. Stamps.com will issue 8 million shares for iShip.com, making the deal valued at around $300 million. Stamps.com was up 7/8, or 2.3%, at 39.

Among other stocks in the news,

Lycos

(LCOS)

was up 1 1/2, or 2.7%, at 57 3/4 after it said it was providing a new shopping service called

LYCOShop

. The service offers users products from more than 1,000 merchants, along with online auctions and classifieds. In conjunction with the announcement, the company also said it was unveiling a rewards program for customers that use its services. The program is being run with help from

Netcentives

(NCNT)

. Netcentives was up 3/4, or 7%, at 11 1/2.

Earnings also will be a factor driving a number of stocks this week. Both

eBay

(EBAY) - Get Report

and

priceline.com

(PCLN)

are scheduled to report on Tuesday, while

Amazon.com

(AMZN) - Get Report

will report on Wednesday. eBay was up 6, or 4%, at 148 5/8, while priceline was up 3, or 4.5%, at 69 3/4 and Amazon was up 2, or 2.5%, at 80 5/8.

Foundry Networks

(FDRY)

was up 11 3/4, or 7%, at 174 9/16 after a number of research firms began coverage of the computer-networking firm.

Merrill Lynch

began coverage with a long-term buy and a $200 price target. Also,

J.P. Morgan

and

Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown

both initiated coverage with buy ratings. All three firms helped bring the stock out in September.

Finally,

Inktomi

(INKT)

, which dropped 14.5% on Friday after Merrill Lynch downgraded its intermediate-term rating on the stock, was up 3 1/16, or 3%, at 106 1/8.

TSC

took an in-depth look at whether Inktomi's woes could continue in a

piece on Friday.