Summer stock surprises

U.S. markets take investors for a wild ride as they react to Asian and Russian financial crises, stalled U.S. corporate earnings, and the latest on the White House sex scandal. In just the past three days, the Dow saw huge gains followed by flat trading, while Dell and Netscape posted profits amid erratic market activity, and Broadcast.com stumbled on an analyst's comments.

Wall Street spike slowing down
udpate Wall Street sees flat trading after registering 100-point plus gains for two days straight.

Broadcast.com sees downside
The online audio and video broadcaster, credited with one of the summer's hottest IPOs, sees its share price fall on an analyst's "neutral" recommendation.

Direct gains for Dell
update The company beats Wall Street expectations and declares a 2-for-1 stock split.

Even break for Netscape
The company ekes out a $88,000 profit for the third fiscal quarter, citing "strong momentum" in its enterprise software and Web site businesses.

Dow, tech stocks enjoy upside
After racking up its fourth largest gain of the year yesterday, the Dow continues to surge, taking technology stocks along for the ride.