Market Close: Dow, Nasdaq take their lumps

Technology stocks were roughed up Tuesday as investors continue to dwell on the Fed's Open Market Committee meeting next week. The Nasdaq composite shed 50 points to 2,580.26 and the Dow lost 94 points to 10,721.63.

After surging in the previous two trading days, Internet stocks were met with some firm resistance.

"Until we get some guidance out of the Fed meeting interest rates will keep the market on the defensive," said Barry Hyman, market strategist at Ehrenkrantz, King & Nussbaum.

EarthLink Networks Inc. (ELNK) shot up 9 5/8 to 57 1/4 after it was upgraded and rumors swirled that it might be a takeover target by Gateway Inc. (GTW). Concentric Network Corp. (CNCX) picked up 1 3/4 to 34 1/4 and Prodigy Communications Corp. (PRGY) added 7/16 to close at 23 1/4.

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) lost 6 3/8 to 152 1/2. America Online Inc. (AOL) shaved off 5 9/16 to 109 13/16 while Lycos Inc. (LCOS) and Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) shed 7 9/16 and 3 a share, respectively. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) lost 6 to close at 117 1/2.

Ill-fated initial public offering Salon.com Inc. (SALN) lost 1/2 to 10 1/2 in its debut. .

Qwest Communications International (QWST) lost 1 5/16 to 35 5/16 as the company continued to pursue US West and Frontier.

Micron Electronics (MUEI) trimmed 3/16 to 10 1/2 after topping Wall Street estimates. Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) dropped 1 3/8 to 37 9/16 and Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) moved up 1 1/2 to 23 5/8. Gateway Inc. (GTW) slid 11/16 to 64 3/4 and Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) ended off 1 1/8 to 45 3/8.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) chopped off 2 7/16 to 86 1/2. Oracle Corp. (ORCL) was unchanged at 34 1/8 and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) closed off 3 3/8 to 65 3/16.

Among other widely held technology stocks, Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) lost 2 1/16 to 59 1/2 after its 2-for-1 split; Intel Corp. (INTC) fell 1 1/8 to 55 11/16; IBM Corp. (IBM) shed 1 9/16 to 123 3/16 and Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) sank 2 11/16 to 62 11/16.