MARKET CLOSE: Techs stuck in reverse

Investors took their profits in the technology sector again Wednesday as the Nasdaq composite slid 189 points to 4,644.68. The Dow Jones industrial average managed to move up 84 points to 11,020.27.

While the tech sector has endured some rough trading this week, analysts said the pullback is primarily a product of profit taking and portfolio juggling.

"These tech stocks have been topping for a couple of weeks now," said Paul Cox, manger of the Commerce Mid-Cap Fund at Commerce Bank. "They've been (involved) in the process of profit-taking and rolling over, and it's just more of the same."

Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) dropped 2 1/16 to 53 13/16 while Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) and Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) closed off 3/8 and 3 1/4 a share, respectively.

Intel Corp. (INTC) shed 3 13/16 to 131 7/8. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) dropped 2 1/4 to 52 7/8 and IBM Corp. (IBM) closed off 3 1/4 to 119 1/4.

AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T) gained 9/16 to 60 7/16 after announcing the IPO of its tracking stock would be the largest US public offering ever.

Excite@Home (Nasdaq: ATHM) closed up 3 3/8 to 37 11/16 after it said it extended its distribution pacts with its key cable partners and gave AT&T voting control of the company.

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) plunged 17 15/16 to 177 1/16 while America Online Inc. (AOL) and Lycos Inc. (LCOS) shaved off 3 15/16 and 2 11/16 a share, respectively. eBay Inc. (EBAY) closed down 24 13/16 to 199 and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) trimmed 3 7/8 to 64 1/4.

PanAmSat (Nasdaq: SPOT) lost 15 1/4 to 47 after it said it will deliver broadband Web info via its new satellite-based network with the help of RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK), down 6 9/32 to 61 15/16, US West (NYSE:USW), up 11/16 to 74 3/8 and Hughes Electronics.

Hauppauge Digital (Nasdaq: HAUP) plunged 18 to 20 1/2 after it warned of a rough second quarter and fiscal 2000 due to the lack of US demand for Digital TV.

MetaCreations (Nasdaq: MCRE) fell 4 1/2 to 26 3/8 after it issued nine separate announcements heralding product partnerships for its MetaStream subsidiary and its new 3-D visualization technology.

The day's IPO was also broadband-related; Telocity, a provider of broadband services, closed up 1 1/4 to 13 1/4.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) moved up 2 7/8 to 107 3/16. Oracle Corp. (ORCL) shed 4 1/16 to 82 1/2 and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) closed off 3 1/2 to 97 1/8.