MARKET CLOSE: Nasdaq soars to all-time high

Technology stocks weren't scared by some pointed comments from Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan Thursday as the Nasdaq composite roared up 121 points to a record close of 4,548.75. The Dow closed off 47 points to 10,514.57.

In his Humphrey-Hawkins testimony before Congress, Greenspan warned that the smoking economy was getting ahead of itself and that the Fed would take steps to slow it down.

"There has been sort of a setback in the stock market over the last month and the idea of a more hawkish Fed has gotten into place," said Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Primark Decision Economics. "Maybe (the more hawkish monetary policy) has already been discounted. Many of the themes here are just repetitions of what he has said in the past. But Greenspan seemed to have notched up the level of concern quite a bit."

Internet stocks bounced back from some rough trading earlier this week, led by eBay Inc. (EBAY) which closed up 4 9/16 to 145 1/4. Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) moved up 1 5/8 to 153 3/16 and America Online Inc. (AOL) added 1 1/16 to 52 13/16. Lycos Inc. (LCOS) trimmed 3/8 to 72 1/4 and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) slid 1 11/16 to 69.

DoubleClick Inc (Nasdaq: DCLK) tumbled 15 3/4 to 90 3/4 after the Internet advertising company said it was being investigated by federal and state authorities.

French wireless company Wavecom S.A. (Nasdaq: WVCM) rose 46 7/8 to 168 7/8 Thursday after it announced a pact with NEC to develop a mobile phone.

Some initial public offerings got off to fine starts.

Eloquent Inc. (Nasdaq: ELOQ), a media presentation software developer, closed up 16 to 32 after it priced 4.5 million shares at $16 each Thursday. It had raised the projected price range to $12 to $14 a share from $10 to $12 per share.

Choice One Communications (Nasdaq: CWON) gained 9 9/16 to 29 9/16 in its debut.

Apropos Technology (Nasdaq: APRS), a developer of software for contact centers to manage customer voice, e-mail and Web-based interactions, priced its 3.7 million shares at $22 a piece, well above its upwardly revised range of $17 to $19. Its shares closed up 24 to 46.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) rose 2 11/6 to 40 11/16; Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) inched up 1/4 to 26 1/8; Gateway Inc. (GTW) added 13/16 to 56 5/16 and Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) closed up 3/4 to 114 7/8.

Cambridge Technology Partners (Nasdaq: CATP) fell 31/32 to 17 1/32 after it said fourth quarter net loss was 28 cents a share, slightly narrower than First Call's expected loss of 30 cents a share.

Advanced Digital (Nasdaq: ADIC), which makes computer storage products, dropped 2 1/16 to 66 11/16 after it approved a 2-for-1 stock split. The company also topped estimates.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HWP) fell 3 13/16 after it reported strong earnings Wednesday. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) gained 2 to 99 5/8 and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) finished up 3/8 to 61 5/8.