MARKET CLOSE: Tech stocks cool off

Technology stocks closed slightly lower Monday as the Nasdaq composite fell 14 points to 3,468.70. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 45 points to 10,271.72.

"The market's had a tough time, then had a nice rally off the lows and now there's some consolidation going on as some stocks had some dramatic moves," said Barry Berman, head of Nasdaq trading at Robert W. Baird & Co. "The problems in the Middle East are unsettling and there's also economic data coming at the end of the week, so I think it is kind of a cautious time."

Investors are already looking ahead to Friday's Gross Domestic Product figures for the third quarter.

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) shed 56 cents to $22.06 after it canned CEO Rich McGinn and replaced him with former chairman Henry Schacht. The company also cut its sales and profit outlook for the first quarter of 2001.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) lost $1.43 to $55.88 and Nortel Networks (NT) fell $1.38 to $66.94.

SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) gained $3.38 to $54.13 after it reported third quarter earnings of 56 cents a share, a penny above First Call's consensus estimate.

Yahoo! (YHOO) inched up 63 cents to $59.63. America Online (AOL) added $1.37 to $47.94 while Amazon.com (AMZN) and Lycos (LCOS) shed 81 cents and 44 cents a share, respectively. eBay (EBAY) closed up $1.50 to $59.56.

Fiber-optics maker Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) dropped $4.50 to $101.44 after it said third-quarter profits more than doubled, amid surging demand for optical fiber and components used in communications networks.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) shot up $5.56 to $35.06 after it beat estimates for its third quarter, but announced 900 layoffs and said it will take a charge of up to $45 million as it restructures.

RealNetworks Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) shares inched up 38 cents to $22.38 after the company announced a strategic alliance with Sony Corp.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell (DELL) lost 94 cents to $27.50; Gateway (GTW) shed $2.58 to $54.40; Apple Computer (AAPL) rose 88 cents to $20.38 and Compaq (CPQ) closed off 93 cents to $27.70.

Intel (INTC) picked up 25 cents to $43.31. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) trimmed 25 cents to $21.88 and IBM (IBM) finished off $1.88 to $92.88.