Net Stocks Back Down as Bears Keep Pressing

Yesterday's 200-point loss in the Nasdaq was painful for Wall Street, but New Yorkers also were suffering after a relatively measly 12-point loss by the Knicks last night in the Eastern Conference finals. And there was little relief in Gotham this morning, as tech was again backpedaling like Allan Houston backing off Reggie Miller.

The Nasdaq, which was set for a higher opening today, was down 7.47, or 0.24%, to 3157.08 in recent trading.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was down 14.49, or 1.91%, to 744.32, and was nearing both the 719.04 low from April 24 and the 713.87 close from April 14.

Among stocks in the news,

RealNetworks

(RNWK) - Get Report

was down 1 3/16, or 3.7%, to 31, despite making a technological announcement with

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

. The companies said they had developed new technology to improve quality and performance for streaming and download-and-play video for Internet users. The new software includes new algorithms that improve smoothness of motion, enhance readability of text and graphics, and reduce common video artifacts. Intel was up 2 1/2, or 2.2%, to 112 3/8.

eBay

(EBAY) - Get Report

was up 3 1/4, or 2.8%, to 119 1/4, despite

The Wall Street Journal's

questionable article suggesting that there was some kind of conflict with eBay officials filing to sell shares of the company's stock "weeks before" Chief Executive Meg Whitman went to

Goldman Sachs'

trading floor. The story was kind of buried on page C15 so maybe the

Journal

understood how questionable it was. Yet another

Journal

story on eBay, with better placement on B1, was better done. The piece illustrates user frustration with the site due to fraudulent bidding.

America Online

(AOL)

was up 3/8, or 0.8%, to 49 7/8. AOL and

WorldCom

(WCOM)

agreed to a multiyear alliance, in which WorldCom will market AOL to its residential local- and long-distance telecommunications customers, offering users up to one hour of free calls a month if they join AOL. WorldCom was up 3/8, or 1.0%, to 76 5/8.

Linux-based companies had their day in the sun, but like most of tech, have fallen on hard times of late.

VA Linux

(LNUX)

, which develops software and products for the Linux operating system, was providing some hope today after besting quarterly expectations last night. The company reported a loss of 13 cents a share, 10 cents better than the

First Call/Thompson Financial

estimate. Revenues of $34.6 million were up 71% sequentially and 710% year over year. It was up 1/2, or 1.3%, to 39.