Both indices were boosted by Microsoft (MSFT) after a Wall Street Journal article said talks between the software company and the government may be winding down. A settlement reportedly wouldn't involve splitting up the company. Microsoft closed up 8 5/8 to 111 7/8.
"I think overall, the encouraging signs here are that you are seeing more balance to these bounces," said Ned Riley, chief investment strategist at Global State Street Advisors. "The tightening by the Fed is going to have minimal impact."
Intel Corp. (INTC) finally cooled a bit, losing 1 7/16 to 142 5/8. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) closed off 2 1/8 to 55 3/8 and IBM Corp. (IBM) moved up 5/8 to 114 7/8.
Adatom.com (Nasdaq: ADTM) closed up 1 5/16 to 8 5/16 after it mentioned the magic word "China" in a press release.
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) finished off 6 3/16 to 191 while America Online Inc. (AOL) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) fell 1 1/16 and 3 a share, respectively. Lycos Inc. (LCOS) rose 2 7/8 to 71 1/4 and eBay Inc. (EBAY) slid 9 1/16 to 223 9/16.
GST Telecommunications (Nasdaq: GSTX) dipped 1/2 to 7 3/4 after it reported a hefty fourth quarter loss Thursday, restated 1999 results, and said its CFO is leaving.
PurchasePro.com (Nasdaq: PPRO) gained 1 13/32 to 123 7/16 after it said it should beat first quarter consensus estimates of a loss of 28 cents a share.
Blaze Software (Nasdaq: BLZE) closed up 11 3/4 to 27 3/4 in its debut after it priced shares at US$16 each. BreezeCOM (Nasdaq: BRZE) closed up 4 13/16 to 39 13/16.
Among widely held PC stocks, Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) shed 2 7/8 to 141 5/16; Gateway Inc. (GTW) lost 3 15/16 to 58 3/4; Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) trimmed 5/8 to 57 1/2 and Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) closed off 3 1/8 to 29 1/8.
