Net Sector Teeters Ahead of Fed Report
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Internet sector was mostly lower after Monday's late recovery, and that weakness most likely reflects fears that the Fed will raise interest rates or adopt a tightening bias, thereby dealing a blow to those companies still looking to grow into sky-high valuations. But a select few Net stocks are bucking the trend.
Lycos
(LCOS)
was higher ahead of its earnings report, scheduled for release after the close. It is expected to report a loss of 3 cents a share. Lycos also said today it will purchase up to a 9% stake in online auctioneer
FairMarket
, which will work with Lycos to build an infrastructure to power Lycos' online auction offering. Lycos was up 3 1/2, or 3%, at 112.
eBay
, which faces competition in the auction business, was off 2 7/8, or 1.5%, at 195 9/16.
Also posting gains was
Tut Systems
(TUTS)
. The company said it had entered into an agreement with
Post Properties
(PPS)
to deploy high-speed Net access to residents of Post's apartment developments. Tut designs, develops and markets products that enable high-speed data access over the copper infrastructure of telephone companies. The companies will partner with
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AT&T
and
Cisco Systems
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to deliver a complete Internet access solution for Post Properties. Tut Systems was up 4 1/2, or 10%, at 49 3/4.
Net Perceptions
(NETP)
, which provides marketing solutions for Internet retailers, was up 1/16 at 24 1/2, coming down from its session high of 27. The company went public April 23, and its underwriters
BancBoston Robertson Stephens
and
Hambrecht & Quist
initiated coverage today with buy ratings.
On the IPO front,
Redback Networks
(RBAK:Nasdaq) was up sharply in its first few minutes of trading. The provider of broadband access networking systems was up around 45, or close to 200%, at 68.
