Tech, Internet Issues Continue to Lead March Higher

Strength in technology and Internet stocks were leading the market higher this morning, with the

Nasdaq Composite Index

soaring 2%.

The Nasdaq Comp was up 49 to 2640.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 20 to 10,710.

The

S&P 500

was up 4 to 1361. The

Russell 2000

was up 3 to 435.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was up 24 to 703.

Meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury bond was down 18/32 to 94 14/32, yielding 5.64%.

Some market participants said the market is reverting back to its old form as technology stocks resume their leadership role after the market's brief buying frenzy in part into cyclicals.

Jay Suskind, head of institutional equity trading at

Ryan Beck

, noted "it was the same old darlings" in the tech sector who were seeing money inflows. He pointed out that

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

,

Dell

(DELL) - Get Report

and the Internet stocks were up pretty nicely so far today.

Suskind noted a couple analysts' actions on

priceline.com

(PCLN)

as adding "more fuel to the fire" in the Internet stocks.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

initiated coverage of priceline.com with an outperform rating, while

Goldman Sachs

also initiated coverage of priceline.com, putting it on its recommended list.

Continued better-than-anticipated earnings helped in part to bolster the market.

On the economic front, market participants are looking ahead to Friday, and the slated release of

gross domestic product

data for the first quarter.

Market internals were positive.

On the

New York Stock Exchange

, advancers were beating decliners 1,418 to 1,199 on 211 million shares. On the

Nasdaq Stock Market

, winners were beating losers 1,889 to 1,452 on 317 million shares.

On the NYSE, 43 issues had set new 52-week highs while 17 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 61 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 23.

On the Big Board,

America Online

(AOL)

was most active, with 9 million shares changing hands. It was up 7 3/4, or 6%, to 154 3/4, ahead of its earnings report, slated for release tomorrow.

On the Nasdaq, Dell was most active, with 12 million shares changing hands. It was up 1 1/4 to 44 1/4.

9:58 a.m.: Tech, Internet Issues Lead on the Upside

Technology and Internet stocks were leading the market higher early on, as the

Nasdaq Composite Index

has jumped 1%.

The Nasdaq Comp was up 29 to 2620.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was up 18 to 698.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

, meanwhile, was up fractionally at 10,690.

The

S&P 500

was up 1 to 1358. The

Russell 2000

was up 2 to 434.

The 30-year Treasury bond was down 21/32 to 94 11/32, yielding 5.65%.

Most Up at Open -- NYSE

IBM (IBM) - Get Report, up 5 to 204 3/4.

Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq

priceline.com , up 16 7/16 to 104 7/16: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter initiated coverage of the company with an outperform rating.

Most Down at Open -- NYSE

Campbell Soup (CPB) - Get Report, down 1 3/4 to 41.

Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq

Exodus Communications (EXDS) , down 3 5/8 to 96 3/4.