MARKET CLOSE: Internets lead tech selloff

After leading the Nasdaq composite to a record close last week, leading Internet stocks were hammered Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average managed to close up 2 points to 11,030.33 while the Nasdaq shed 42 points to end at 2,844.79.

"There are no heroes to be found in the market today," said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president and market strategist at Fahnestock and Co. "This is a market held hostage to a tight trading range by concerns about interest rates."

Analysts said the broader market is pressured by rising energy prices and the Japanese recovery, which pushed the yen to a three-year high against the dollar and a lifetime high against the euro.

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) shares fell 9 3/4 to 160 3/4 after making huge gains throughout most of last week's trading. America Online Inc. (AOL) fell 6 1/16 to 90 1/4 while Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Excite@Home Corp. (ATHM) lost 3 3/16 and 2 1/16 a share, respectively. Lycos Inc. (LCOS) fell 3/4 to 44 1/16 and Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) dropped 1 ? to finish at 30.

Online financial information providers enjoyed nice gains as Edgar Online Inc. (EDGR) moved up 2 7/8 to 10 5/8 while TheStreet.com Inc. (TSCM) and Hoover's Inc. (HOOV) rose 5 15/16 and 5 5/8 a share, respectively.

Telecom plays were moving shares, with wireless telephone and semiconductor maker Motorola Inc. (MOT) plunging 8 1/8 to 90 1/2 on reports that it is in talks to acquire General Instrument Corp. (GIC) for $10 billion. General Instrument shares closed off 2 13/16 to 49 11/16.

Bell Atlantic (BEL) closed up 1 3/4 to 64 1/4 and U.K.-based Vodafone AirTouch (VOD) rose 10 3/4 to 205 9/16 after news the two are discussing a joint venture for their U.S. wireless businesses.

PairGain Technologies Inc.'s (PAIR) shed 11/16 to 12 3/16 after it said it expects both revenue and operating earnings for the third quarter of 1999 to fall far below current expectations.

Intel Corp. (INTC) fell 3 to 84 3/8. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) lost 7/16 to 21 1/4 and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) dipped 2 5/8 to 132 3/8.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) shaved off 1 11/16 to 47 7/8; Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) lost 2 7/16 to 75; Gateway Inc. (GTW) dipped 1 9/16 to 49 3/8 and Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) closed off 1/2 to 24 11/16.

3Com Corp. (COMS) shot up 1 5/8 to 28 7/8 after it said it will spin off its Palm Computing unit as an independent company. Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) trimmed 1/16 to 70 11/16 following an upgrade from Merrill Lynch, which raised its rating from "accumulate" to "near-term buy" and setting a year 2000 price target of $85 a share for the stock. Lucent Technologies (LU) ended off 5/16 to 77 3/16.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell 1 1/8 to 93 7/8 and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) closed off 5/8 to 45 3/4 ahead of Tuesday's earnings report.