Market Download - Industry Trend or Event

Industry Standard, The, April 2, 2001

THIN RELIEF You know you're in the depths of a bear market when you get through a horrible week feeling relieved that it could have been a lot worse. Last week, the Dow, still dizzy from an unexpected sell-off the previous week, fell near 9100, its lowest point in two years. By week's end, the blue chip index had stabilized, thanks in large part to a rally that started in, of all places, the semiconductor sector.

Despite a sense that many tech stocks are still overvalued, fund managers are beginning to place their bets on a tech recovery, even though nearly everyone has written one off for the year. Computer chips are usually the first to benefit from a rebound. If the worst of the tech crash has passed, as some money managers believe, then why not buy now and wait for the recovery? As a result, companies like chip-equipment maker Applied Materials hinting at continuing weakness in coming quarters are seeing their stocks surge.

And the Dow? Its fate hangs on how hard the economy is shaken by the collapse of the Nasdaq bubble. The Dow's blue chip stocks are facing their darkest hour in years just as investors are beginning to muster some confidence in tech stocks. But if a recession brings down profits at nontech companies, those companies could cut back their tech spending further. And that would pour cold water on any tech recovery.

The Dow ended last week down 3.2 percent at 9505. The Nasdaq rose 2 percent to 1929, the S&P 500 dropped 0.9 percent to 1140. And the Industry Standard 100, developed with Epoch Partners, gained 4.5 percent to 377.

                       THE INDUSTRY STANDARD POWERED
                             BY EPOCH PARTNERS
RELATIVE                THE INDUSTRY     NASDAQ
PERFORMANCE             STANDARD 100 COMPOSITE INDEX
Closing level (Mar. 23)      377          1929
Year-to-date change         -33%          -22%
3-month change              -34%          -23%
52-week change              -86%          -61%
The Week: 5%
52 Weeks: -86%
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
                                BIG MOVERS
                         LARGEST NET STOCK GAINERS
                              AND LOSERS [*]
GAINERS                PERCENT LOSERS                 PERCENT
ZapMe! (IZAP)            75.0% Baltimore Tech. (BALT)  -36.6%
Interwoven (IWOV)        48.9% 360networks (TSIX)      -27.4%
Matrixone (MONE)         44.6% Niku (NIKU)             -27.0%
McData (MCDT)            43.8% Carrier1 (CONE)         -25.0%
Art Tech. Group (ARTG)   42.9% Flag Telecom (FTHL)     -23.4%
ChipPAC (CHPC)           38.7% 724 Solutions (SVNX)    -23.2%
(*.)BASED ON CHANGE FROM CLOSING PRICE ON MAR. 16.
                         NASDAQ DELISTING MONITOR
DATE    COMPANY             TICKER DESCRIPTION
Mar. 26 Xpedior               XPDR Online business services
Mar. 21 CyberCash             CYCH Online financial services
Mar. 21 Varsity Group         VSTY Online book retailer
Mar. 20 Network Comp. Dev.    NCDI Hardware and software maker
Mar. 20 Egreetings Network    EGRT Online greetings and gifts
Mar. 15 Drug Emporium         DEMP Drugstore chain
Mar. 15 Response Oncology     ROIX Cancer treatment centers
Mar. 14 Trega Biosciences     TRGA Drug discovery company
Mar. 8  eToys                 ETYS Online toy retailer
Mar. 8  Source Media          SRCM Streaming content syndicator
Mar. 8  Topjobs.net           TJOB Online recruiter
Mar. 7  MediConsult.com       MCNS Health information publisher
Mar. 6  Walker Interactive    WALK Financial software consultant
Mar. 1  V3 Semiconductor      VVVI Embedded chipsets
Mar. 1  Voxware               VOXW Speech-recognition software
Feb. 26 Ins. Mgt. Solutions   INMG Insurance services
Feb. 16 Quintus               QNTS CRM software developer
Feb. 14 Hometown Auto         HCAR New- and used-vehicle sales
Feb. 12 Elcotel               ECTL Public phone and Net service
DATE    REASON GIVEN                         IPO DATE IPO PRICE LAST PRICE
Mar. 26 Company request                     Dec. 1999    $19.00      $0.31
Mar. 21 Bankruptcy reorganization           Feb. 1996    $17.00      $0.78
Mar. 21 Bid price, public float below min.  Feb. 2000    $10.00      $0.22
Mar. 20 Bid price below minimum             June 1992    $12.00      $0.28
Mar. 20 Acquired by AmericanGreetings.com   Dec. 1999    $10.00      $0.81
Mar. 15 Bid price below minimum             June 1988     $7.25      $0.13
Mar. 15 Bid price below minimum             June 1986    $11.00      $0.12
Mar. 14 Company request, plan of merger     Mar. 1996     $8.00      $0.53
Mar. 8  Bankruptcy; financials below min.   May  1999    $20.00      $0.01
Mar. 8  Financials below minimum            Dec. 1995    $10.50      $0.22
Mar. 8  Financials below minimum            Apr. 1999    $12.00      $1.31
Mar. 7  Financials below minimum            Apr. 1999    $13.00      $0.05
Mar. 6  Financials below minimum            Mar. 1992    $15.00      $0.88
Mar. 1  Not current in filings              Apr. 1994     $5.00      $1.40
Mar. 1  Financials below minimum            Oct. 1996     $7.50      $0.59
Feb. 26 Bid price, public float below min.  Feb. 1999    $11.00      $0.55
Feb. 16 Not current in filings              Nov. 1999    $18.00      $0.13
Feb. 14 Value of public float below minimum July 1998     $9.00      $0.50
Feb. 12 Company request                     Nov. 1986     $6.00      $0.22
SOURCES: THE STANDARD USING DATA FROM
NASDAQ, BLOOMBERG AND IPO.COM