Midday Markets: Techs rebound

Techs rebounded at midday on Friday after some positive economic data. The Nasdaq climbed 51 to 2,454 and the @Net rose 7 to 284. The Dow Jones industrial average added 41 to 10,705.

The broader market recovered slightly after the Department of Labor reported a smaller-than-expected rise in employment at 11,000 jobs in May. The national unemployment rate for last month dipped 0.1 percent from April to 4.2 percent, just below the 4.3 percent expected by economists. The data indicates that the job market stayed tight last month. However, the lack of a significant move in job figures may mean that any action taken by the Federal Reserve is likely to be a modest one. The central bank meets next on June 29. The Fed left interest rates unchanged at 4.25 percent at their last meeting on May 18.

Online investment bank Wit Capital Group Inc.'s (Nasdaq: WITC) IPO rose more than 70 percent, up 6 5/8 to 15 5/8, in its inaugural trading day. The company priced its 7.6 million share offering Thursday night at 9, the high end of its range.

High Speed Access Corp. (Nasdaq: HSAC) also enjoyed a comfortable open at 17 15/16. Shares for its 13 million-share offering priced at $13 a share last night. The stock rose 48 percent to 19 5/16 in its first day trade.

Some smaller fish didn't fare as well as Wit. Network Access Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq: NASC) shares rose 1/16 to 12 1/16 in its first day trading. Shares of the issue priced at $12 a share, below the range of $14 and $16. Online Resources & Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ORCC) rose 3/4 to 14 3/4 after the banking services software company opened at 15 1/16. The 3.1 million-share offering priced at $14 a share, the top of its range.

F5 Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV), which priced at the low end of its range at $10 a share, made modest gains as well. Shares opened at 10 1/4 and rose to 13 1/4 in noontime trade.

Not all contact with the Internal Revenue Service is a bad thing. Beyond.com Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND) rose 30 percent, or 5 3/8 to 22 13/16, after landing at $120 million contract with the government agency.

Advanced Fiber Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: AFCI) rose for a third day, up 1 3/8 to 12 7/16, after expanding its high-speed Internet access service into a region in Texas.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) climbed 3 9/16 to 112 3/8 and Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU) gained 1 15/16 to 61 7/16.

Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: DELL) added 15/16 to 34 1/8. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) rose 15/16 to113 7/8 and Gateway Inc. (NYSE: GTW) climbed 1 7/8 to 60 7/16.

Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) added 1 3/4 to 52 1/4 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) rose 5/16 to 18 1/8.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), also a part of the IRS contract, rose 2 1/2 to 78 7/8. Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE: CA) gained 13/16 to 49 1/16 and Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) added 1 to 28 1/2.