MARKET CLOSE: Dow, Nasdaq show signs of life

Blue-chip and technology stocks posted strong gains Monday as the Nasdaq composite hustled up 46 points to finish at 2,308.50. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 201 points to finish at 10,642.53.

Investors were encouraged by more talk of a surprise interest-rate cut later this week.

"The market has some hope that the Fed might move this week," said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investment Associates. "The second thing happening here is that I think the market was really oversold. You tend to get a snapback after that."

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) shares fell $1 to $29.15 after warning that its first-quarter sales and earnings will fall short of analyst estimates.

Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) lost $2.25 to $35 after Lehman Brothers slashed its fiscal 2001 earnings estimate. Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) added 73 cents to $22.83 and Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY), which also had its 2001 earnings forecast lowered, rose 25 cents to $22.05.

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) trimmed 44 cents to $29.50, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) closed up $1.30 to $105.30.

Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) clipped 94 cents to $26.06. Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) tacked on 19 cents to $12.59, and Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) finished off 50 cents to $18.88.

3Com (Nasdaq: COMS), up 47 cents to $9.50, said it will eliminate 1,200 jobs as part of a cost-cutting move. CEO Bruce Claflin said the cuts are a reaction to broader woes hitting the telecom market.

Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q) reiterated that it's on track to meet its 2001 targets Monday, thanks to strong sales for its high-tech Internet services in January. The company also said it will re-enter the long-distance business in several states. The stock finished up $2.37 to $38.27.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) dropped 44 cents to $22.81, Compaq (NYSE: CPQ) fell 70 cents to $21.30, Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL) gained 69 cents to $19.50 and Gateway (NYSE: GTW) closed off 24 cents to $17.81.

Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) picked up 31 cents to $25.75. America Online Time Warner (NYSE: AOL) shot up $2.82 to $46.12, and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) inched up 13 cents to $11.94. eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) rose 94 cents to $45.38, and CMGI (Nasdaq: CMGI) finished up 47 cents to $4.66.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) moved up $2.75 to $59.50. Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) shot up $1.19 to $23.19 and Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW) clipped 6 cents to close at $20.75.

ZDII staff and Reuters contributed to this roundup.