MARKET CLOSE: Investors shy away from techs

Bargain hunters got into the mix in late trading Monday, helping push the Dow Jones industrial average up 97 points to 10,116.28. Tech stocks weren't as fortunate as the Nasdaq fell 43 points to close at 2,688.83.

Analysts said the late buying was a sign that some investors are expecting better-than-expected figures when the Consumer Price Index for September is unveiled Tuesday.

"The market has just great nervousness about what may be changing in the overall blend of the economy," said Joseph Battipaglia, the chief investment officer at Gruntal & Co. "No one is going to make a big commitment until they see what the Consumer Price Index has to bring in the morning."

Internet stocks were mixed Monday as America Online Inc. (AOL) and Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) rose 7/8 and 13/16 a share, respectively, while Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) lost 1 to 74 1/16. Lycos Inc. (LCOS) shed 3 7/8 to 52 and Excite@Home Corp. (ATHM) fell 2 1/4 to 38 9/16. Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) shed 1 1/8 to end at 28 3/16.

PC stocks were roughed up, led by Hewlett-Packard Co. which tumbled 4 11/16 to 78 1/16. Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) slid 1 1/2 to 41 5/16 and Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) closed off 13/16 to 20 3/8. Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) dipped 1 5/16 to 73 1/4 and Gateway Inc. (GTW) shaved off 15/16 to 51 1/2.

Cognizant Technology (Nasdaq: CTSH) shot up 5 1/8 to 32 1/2 after SG Cowen initiated overage of the stock ahead of its earnings report, slated for Tuesday.

HearMe Inc. (Nasdaq: HEAR) rose 1 7/8 to 13 5/16 on reports of a possible deal with Yahoo!.

Online bookstore Fatbrain.com Inc. (Nasdaq: FATB) slid 1/16 to 20 3/16 after it said Vulcan Ventures Inc., the investment company of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, had agreed to invest an additional $20 million in the company.

Lexmark International Group, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) plunged 29 to 64 after it posted third quarter results that beat First Call's prediction by 2 cents a share, but warned that revenue and earnings for the fourth-quarter would be at the low-end of analysts' expectations.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) trimmed 17/64 to 87 51/64. Oracle Corp. (ORCL) lost 1 1/8 to 43 7/8 and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) closed up 1 to 93 9/16.

Among other widely held technology stocks, Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) inched up 3/16 to 67 3/8; Intel Corp. (INTC) dropped 1 1/2 to 69 3/8; International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) fell 7/8 to 107 and Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) closed up 2 1/16 to 56 15/16.