Market Close: Internet deals spark tech stocks

Internet stocks represented the only bright spot in an otherwise dreary day of trading Wednesday as the Nasdaq composite picked up 18 points to 2,598.13. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 55 points to close at 10,666.86.

The day was marked by some acquisitions, some rumored acquisitions and very light volume.

"There's not that much volume," said Scott Jones, director of equity trading at Jefferies & Co. "There's quite a bit of cash on the sidelines."

America Online Inc. (AOL) added 2 9/16 to 112 1/16. Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) moved up 3 to 155 ? and ExciteAtHome (ATHM) shot up 2 3/16 to 56 7/16.

Lycos Inc. (LCOS) gained 4 7/16 to 93 1/2. Beyond.com Inc. (BYND) rallied up 7 1/4 to 32 7/8 after CNBC reported that Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) might acquire the company. Amazon.com rose 1/4 to 117 3/4 and Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) closed up 1 1/8 to 47 1/4.

Multex.com Inc. (MLTX) fell 2 5/16 to 26 11/16 after saying it would acquire Market Guide Inc. (MARG) for $157 million in stock.

Ariba Inc. (ARBA) rocketed up 67, or 291 percent, to 90 in its initial public offering. GlobSpan Semiconductor Inc. (GSPN) stormed up 27 5/16, or 182 percent, to 42 5/16 in its debut.

Computer makers moved on rumors of acquisitions. Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) lost 3/8 to 23 7/16 following reports Compaq is planning to sell AltaVista to CMGi Inc. CMGi shares shot up 4 to 98 15/16. Gateway Inc. (GTW) shed 1/4 to 64 1/2 on news it may acquire the Internet service provider EarthLink Network Inc. (ELNK). EarthLink shares closed up 4 to 61 1/4.

Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) added 3/4 to 38 5/16 and Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) shed 1 11/16 to 43 11/16.

Qwest Communications Inc. (QWST) tumbled 2 3/4 to 32 9/16 after raising its bid for U.S. West Corp. (USW), which closed up 1 to 58. Frontier Corp. (FRO) added 1 7/8 to close at 59 7/8.

3Com Corp. (COMS) plunged 4 3/8 to 27 1/8 following a warning that revenue may fall. Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) rose 2 3/8 to 61 7/8 and Ascend Communications Inc. (ASND) picked up 5 13/16 to 108 3/8.

Among other widely held technology issues, Intel Corp. (INTC) moved up 7/8 to 56 9/16; IBM Corp. (IBM) fell 7/16 to 122 15/16; Oracle Corp. (ORCL) gained 1 to 35 1/8; Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) trimmed 1/2 to 86 and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) closed up 1 1/2 to 66 11/16.