MARKET CLOSE: Techs still hot

Optimistic investors pushed technology stocks up again Thursday as the Nasdaq composite moved up 28 points to another record close of 3,056.10. The Dow gained 31 points to close at 10,639.57.

On the economic front, jobless claims showed the number of Americans filing first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 288,000 for the week ended Oct. 30, slightly above expectations.

"Unless we get a surprise, the consensus seems to be that the inflation picture is under control and the Fed is really not going to have to do much to interest rates this time around," said Bill Allyn, director of listed trading at Jefferies & Co.

Internet stocks closed mostly higher. With interest rates apparently out of investors' minds, these highly valued issues were cleared for takeoff.

America Online Inc. (AOL) rose 4 7/8 to 143 7/8. Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) picked up 1 5/8 to 182 1/4 while Lycos Inc. (LCOS) and Infoseek Corp. (SEEK) tacked on 2 3/8 and 5/16 a share, respectively. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) clipped 2 3/4 to 63 1/16 and Excite@Home Corp. (ATHM) inched up 3/32 to 38 15/32.

Tickets.com (Nasdaq: TIXX) received 8 percent of its revenue from the Internet in the second quarter, but that didn't stop the company from tapping into a little .com euphoria. Its shares moved up 6 3/4 to 19 1/4 in its initial public offering.

Radware Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDWR) tumbled 23 7/8 to 56 1/8 after reporting a third-quarter loss on target with First Call's expected loss of a penny a share.

Value America, Inc. (Nasdaq: VUSA) said Thursday its net loss for the third quarter was 71 cents a share, sneaking by First Call's expected loss of 73 cents a share on rocketing revenue. Its shares closed off 1 1/8 to 12 3/4.

Snap.com and XOOM.com Inc. (Nasdaq: XMCM) said they had reached agreements worth $75 million with HealthGate Data Corp. to make it the main provider of health content on Snap.com's Health Channel. Xoom.com closed off 13/16 to 63 3/16.

Vignette Corp. (Nasdaq: VIGN) closed off 1 3/4 to 171 1/4 after announcing a 2-for-1 split as it continues to see blue sky following a strong third quarter.

K-Tel (Nasdaq: KTEL) continued its post-earnings euphoria, closing up 2 to 10 7/16 after reporting net income of 30 cents a share, reversing losses of 37 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) trimmed 17/64 to 91 47/64. Oracle Corp. (ORCL) added 7/8 to 58 3/16 and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) closed up 1 3/16 to 107 3/4.

Among widely held PC stocks, Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) rose 9/16 to 42 9/16; Gateway Inc. (GTW) added 2 5/8 to 70 1/4; Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) moved up 2 1/8 to 83 5/8 and Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) tacked on 7/16 to 19 3/16.

Intel Corp. (INTC) picked up 1 13/16 to 81 9/16 and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) lopped off 2 3/4 to 91 5/8.