MARKET CLOSE: Dow, Nasdaq stuck in reverse

Technology stocks were roughed up again Wednesday despite some decent earnings reports from the likes of Yahoo! and Motorola. The Nasdaq composite fell 72 points to 3,168.17 while the Dow shed 111 points to end at 10,413.79.

"There's a realization that's taking place in the marketplace that a soft landing for the U.S. economy is incapable of generating a continuation of the type of earnings that the market has become accustomed to," said Robert J. Barbera, chief economist at Hoenig & Co. "A return to a more restrained growth rate... is going to adversely affect the top and bottom lines of corporate earnings."

Yahoo's (Nasdaq: YHOO) tumbled $17.31 to $65.38 after its third-quarter results topped by a penny a share.

America Online (AOL) shares fell $2.36 to $54.88 while Amazon.com (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) lost $2.63 and $4.94 a share, respectively. Lycos (LCOS) shed $11.69 to end at $40.

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) shares plunged $10 to $21.38 after the company issued a second warning about its fourth quarter.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) inched up 6 cents to $51.19 and Nortel Networks (NT) closed up 94 cents to $60.94.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) closed off 94 cents to $21.81 ahead of its earnings report. Intel (INTC) dropped $2.19 to $35.38 and IBM (IBM) closed down $2.06 to $112.81.

Fiber optic firm Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GBLX) dipped $2.44 to $21.44 after it said CEO Leo Hindery has left. He will be replaced by Vice Chairman Thomas Casey.

CSG Systems (Nasdaq: CSGS) gained $18.69 to $46.63 after announcing AT&T Broadband has agreed to dismiss its Sept. 27 demand for arbitration with the company.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell (DELL) shed $1.38 to $22.88; Compaq (CPQ) trimmed 6 cents to $24.19; Apple Computer (AAPL) lost $1.25 to $19.63 and Gateway (GTW) finished off $1.29 to $44.62.

Microsoft (MSFT) added $1.19 to $55.75. Oracle (ORCL) dropped $2.38 to $62.25 and Sun Microsystems (SUNW) closed off $1.31 to $101.88.