Stocks Finish The Week Higher

Late-session profit-taking took some of the luster off of Friday's session, but a second day of gain in the technology sector and a resurgence in Internet issues gave market bulls something to smile about.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 41.32 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,339.95 after being up as much as 97.04 points. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.0 percent.

"The market is circling the runway looking for a place to land," remarked Gregory Kuhn, money manager at Kuhn Asset Management Co. "I think the upside is very limited."

Kuhn's biggest complaint is one voiced by many players: the lack of breadth to the market's rise.

Losers outpaced winners by 1,537 to 1,387 on the New York Stock Exchange. In the Nasdaq Stock Market, things were somewhat healthier, with gainers leading losers by a 7-to-6 margin.

Trading activity was below average in keeping with the pattern of the last eight days.

Internet-related issues rose after CIBC Oppenheimer analyst Henry Blodget served up some positive words on the group. In December, Blodget had set a $400 price target on Amazon.com. Shares of the online retailer eventually ran up to nearly $600 on a presplit basis.

"We would start accumulating the Internet stocks," Blodget said in a research report. He sees new highs in the stocks by the second half of the year, with his top picks being America Online (AOL) and Yahoo! (YHOO), both rated "strong buy." AOL shares rose 4 5/8 to 160 3/8 and Yahoo! stock climbed 6 1/2 to 135 3/8. The analyst tabs Amazon.com (AMZN) a "buy." The online retailer's shares skipped ahead 12 3/8 to 101 7/8. (Editor's note: CBS News is the broadcast news provider for America Online.)

SkyMall (SKYM) bolted 2 15/16, or 25 percent, to 14 3/4. The in-flight catalog company penned a pact with Northwest Airlines that calls for the its catalogs to be distributed on all Northwest flights.

In other cyberplays, Lycos gained 3 1/4 to 87 1/2, CMGI improved 8 3/8 to 109, Broadcast.com was ahead 2 9/16 to 70 11/16, and @Home advanced 3 11/16 to 100 3/4.

A few stocks sizzled in their market debuts. WebTrends (WEBT) vaulted 14 1/16 points, or 108 percent, to 27 1/16. The developer of Internet management systems sold 3.5 million shares at $13 apiece, up from its initial plan to sell 3 million shares between $9 and $11.

In another IPO, Vignette (VIGN) catapulted 23 11/16 points, or 125 percent, to 42 11/16 after pricing 4 million shares at $19 each. It had expected to sell 3.5 million shares between $12 and $14. The company develops software to manage online content. CNET (CNET), which owns about 9 percent of Vignette, tacked on 6 to 116.

Holders of gaming issues struck paydirt for the second day in a row after watching the stocks trade sideways for more than three months. Circus Circus (CIR) gained 1 1/2 to 17 3/16, MGM Grand (MGG) 2 11/16 to 36 7/16, and Harrah's Entertainment (HET) 1 13/16 to 17 13/16.

In Friday's maret indicators:

• The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.2 percent.
• On the Big Board floor, turnover shrank 5 percent to 701 million shares. Nasdaq volume totaled 809 million shares.
• The Russell 2000 Index of small-company stocks gained 0.3 percent.
• The 30-year Treasury was up 1/32, to yield 5.379 percent.

• Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) rose 3 1/2 to 31 15/16. The company said it received an unsolicited $1.4 billion cash offer, or $38.50 a share, from General Dynamics (GD). Last month, Newport and Avondale Industries (AVDL) mapped plans to combine in a $470 million deal. GD shares picked up 5/16 to 60 3/8.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that United Airlines' parent UAL Corp. (UAL) made an unspecified cash offer for America West Holdings (AWA). UAL shares rose 1/4 to 59 1/2, while America stock tacked on 2 3/4 to 22 3/4.
• Telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ciena (CIEN) posted fiscal first-quarter results of 2 cents a share. A First Call Corp. survey of Wall Street analysts had called for a deficit of a penny. The company said demand for optical networking equipment continues to appear robust. Prudential Securities fattened its opinion to "accumulate" from "hold" and SG Cowen repeated its "strong buy" rating. The stock advanced 1 9/16 to 22 7/16.
• Pfizer (PFE) fell 2 13/16 to 128 5/16. Merrill Lynch trimmed its rating to "near-term accumulate" from "near-term buy," but maintained its "long-term buy" view. The downgrade was based on valuation.
• Rambus (RMBS) put on 9 3/4 to 71. SG Cowen repeated its "buy" rating on the manufacturer of high-speed chip-to-chip interface technology. Analyst Drew Peck sees earnings per share ramping from 32 cents in the September 1999 fiscal year to $1.12 in 2000 and $4.00 in 2001. "This is a name for long-term investors betting on a compelling next-generation technology," he said in a report.
• Merrill Lynch (MER) picked up 2 7/16 to 72 5/16. The broker will buy D.E. Shaw's Internet operation for an undisclosed sum.
• Polaroid (PRD) was 3 1/4 points richer at 22 1/4. Some investors see the photographic products company as ripe for a takeover, according to a Business Week magazine article.