MARKET CLOSE: Dow, Nasdaq post healthy gains

Technology stocks posted strong gains Thursday as the Nasdaq composite closed up 62 points to 2,552.91.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 96 points to close at 10,891.02.

"As investors get confidence that we will in fact see growth in the second half of the year, all the ingredients are in place for a pretty decent market," said Donald Berdine, chief investment officer at PNC Advisors, which oversees $70 billion in assets.

Ciena (Nasdaq: CIEN) gained $12.19 to $89 after it topped earnings and revenue estimates Thursday with a strong first quarter. CEO Patrick Nettles said he expects Ciena's business will continue to grow faster than the overall market, and he raised revenue projections for 2001.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) rose $1.44 to $30.81, while Lucent Technologies (LU) and Nortel Networks (NT) closed up 92 cents and 20 cents a share, respectively.

Shares of Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) inched up 6 cents to $14.50, recovering from a 10 percent dip after the company was given a rare "sell" rating at Prudential Securities, based on iffy prospects for the company's expansion into new businesses.

Yahoo (YHOO) shot up $2.81 to $31.31. America Online-Time Warner (AOL) moved up $1.37 to $49.90. eBay (EBAY) rose 31 cents to $50.50, and CMGI (CMGI) clipped 13 cents to finish at $5.09.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell (DELL) picked up $2.06 to $25; Compaq (CPQ) added $1.18 to $23.90; Gateway (GTW) finished up $1.19 to $20.95 and Apple Computer (AAPL) tacked on 56 cents to $20.06.

Interwoven (Nasdaq: IWOV) gained $6.13 to $26.19 after an analyst initiated coverage of the stock with a "strong buy" and slapped a $32 price target on the stock.

Microsoft (MSFT) added 44 cents to $58.81 while Oracle (ORCL) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW) both picked up 50 cents a share to close at $25.50 and $27.19, respectively.

Rural telephone services company Alltel (NYSE: AT) warned on Thursday that its 2001 earnings may fall short of Wall Street expectations and that it set plans to trim its regional operations and cut 1,000 jobs, even as wireless subscriber growth accelerates. The stock finished up 18 cents to $53.29.

Intel (INTC) jumped $1.69 to $35.81. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gained $1.28 to $26.23 and IBM (IBM) finished up $1.68 to $116.78.