MIDDAY MARKETS: Investors punish Corning, eye Greenpan

A dour outlook from fiber-optics maker Corning dragged techs into the red at midday Thursday as investors digested Alan Greenspan's congressional testimony about fiscal challenges. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 55.90 to 2,803.25 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18.19 to 10,665.16.

The Inter@ctive Week @Net Index fell 9 to 329.46.

In Greenspan's testimony to a senate panel, the Federal Reserve Chairman made no direct mention of the Fed's intention toward interest rates, but suggested he'd be receptive to tax cuts.

Fiber-optic giant Corning (NYSE: GLW), down $10.25 to $59.87, handily topped estimates for its fourth quarter, but investors dumped shares on worries about spending by telecom customers. Two prominent brokerage firms downgraded Corning.

SanDisk Corp. (Nasdaq: SNDK) fell $13.63 to $32.56 after warning of slumping revenues through the first half of the year due to a slowdown in the economy.

Kana Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: KANA) was off $2.41 to $7.03 as analysts downgraded the stock on the heels of its disappointing fourth-quarter results.

SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC), down $0.25 to $47.13, reported fourth quarter earnings on target with First Call's estimate of 57 cents a share Thursday. SBC's sales were driven by growth in data services, its first full quarter of long-distance service in Texas, and contributions from Cingular Wireless.

Webvan (Nasdaq: WEBV), up $0.13 to $0.38, posted a narrower-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and announced a revised business plan.

Internet service provider Juno Online Services Inc. (Nasdaq: JWEB), up $0.22 to $3.81, said it expects a 2001 net loss of $10 million to $25 million, down from $131.4 million last year, despite the prospect of an expected decline in revenues due to softness in advertising.

Tollgrade Communications Inc., (Nasdaq: TLGD) down $13.19 to $36.69, posted a 63 percent increase in fourth-quarter profits but said earnings growth will slow in 2001 because of a tough economic climate.

Cisco Sytems (Nasdaq: CSCO) fell $1.38 to $41.18. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) lost $0.75 to $35.5. Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) rose $0.38 to $30.44. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) was unchanged at $62.94.

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) fell $1.5 to $20.38. AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL) slipped $0.17 to $55.58. Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) fell $4.13 to $38.75.