INTERNET INVESTORS NOW CARE ABOUT PROFITS.Byline: David E. Kalish Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Call it crazy. After two years of piling into Internet stocks Internet stock The equity security of a company engaged primarily in a business associated with the Internet. Also called dot-com. with scant scant adj. scant·er, scant·est 1. Barely sufficient: paid scant attention to the lecture. 2. Falling short of a specific measure: a scant cup of sugar. regard for profits, some investors increasingly care about making money. The shift was underscored Tuesday during an explosive rebound on Wall Street that lifted a broad range of stocks, giving the Dow Jones industrial average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. its second-biggest point gain ever. A key barometer of Internet stocks, the Internet Stock Index of 50 companies, jumped 7 percent to 93.18, retracing half of its loss during Monday's dramatic sell-off. But not all Internet businesses joined the party. Amazon.com, the largest online seller of books, dropped 4.5 percent on top of Monday's 21 percent plunge. Broadcast.com, a broadcaster of live audio and video across the Internet to Web sites, fell 7 percent in a comedown come·down n. 1. A decline to a lower status or level. 2. a. A feeling of disappointment or depression. b. A cause of disappointment or depression. from its debut last month in 1998's hottest initial public offering. RealNetworks, whose software also lets people hear audio and watch video over the Internet, dropped 11 percent. Even Yahoo!, the popular Web site operator that recently reported a quarterly profit, came back only 4.7 percent after sinking 17 percent Monday. Underlying the mixed performance, analysts say, more and more investors are getting weak stomachs for young companies with long-term prospects but immediate losses. While these stocks are notoriously volatile and could quickly bounce back, some market observers detect a shift in investor attitude. ``People are buying back in, but they are being a tad more careful,'' said Steve Harmon, senior investment analyst for Mecklermedia Corp., a Westport, Conn.-based Internet research This article is about using the Internet for research; for the field of research about the Internet, see Internet studies. Internet research is the practice of using the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for research. company that compiles and maintains the Internet Stock Index. ``People are avoiding some of the brands of well-known Internet companies,'' he added. Most Internet start-ups are in the red. But until recently, that fact hasn't much fazed faze tr.v. fazed, faz·ing, faz·es To disrupt the composure of; disconcert. See Synonyms at embarrass. [Middle English fesen, to drive away, frighten the stake holders in companies seen on the Internet's cutting edge, such as Amazon.com and Web site-operators Excite and Lycos. Ignoring financial losses, stock buyers focused narrowly on the potential for growth in an exploding medium that is attracting millions of new users, Web-site visits and advertisers. VOLATILE NET COMPANIES Shares of some of the nation's leading Internet companies experienced dizzying swings Tuesday. MON. TUES. TUES. TUES. TUES. COMPANY CLOSE OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE Amazon.Com $83.75 $76.125 $86.625 $65 $79.953 America Online See AOL. $81.9375 $80.75 $88 $69 $85 Inktomi Corp. $49 $52.50 $52.75 $39 $51.375 Yahoo! Inc. $69 $66.125 $76.50 $59 $72.25 CAPTION(S): Box BOX: VOLATILE NET COMPANIES (see text) |
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