It was inevitable that there would be some kind of profit-taking in the Web sector, given the recent days' surges. Add to that the recent leaps in genetic engineering and the fact that a lot of the loser companies that started out in the 90s are dead, and you've got a great crop of life-sciences companies to pick from. One company, for example, has figured out a way to put DNA segments on microchips. Another company, Incyte , recently announced it had found the gene involved in Type 2 diabetes. In the life-sciences industry you see value creation over a long period of time.
Investors look for other sectors where there's value.
After announcing it would miss earnings estimates earlier this month, Xerox attempted to kiss and make up with investors by announcing a new Internet business, which will spruce up the company's Website and create new digital technologies. The petroleum sector rose today on worries of a Y2K fuel shortages. Bank of America came up with a bizarre Dilbert-esque scheme to boost employee morale, earning the company the ire of California's top labor official. When the state labor commissioner heard about the proposal, she freaked, telling Bank of America it would have to pay employees for keeping the ATMs clean. Boeing lifted off today following an upgrade from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.