An uninspired market it may be, but the Nasdaq closed above 4000 Wednesday for the first time in nearly a month. Gains in a few individual tech stocks drove the index up 1.3 percent, or 52.80, to close at 4011.01. The more staid Dow was nearly even Wednesday, gaining only 5.5 points, or 0.05 percent, to 11144.65.þNew issue O2 Micro International provided most of the day's excitement.þInitially priced at $9, the stock soared 130 percent, gaining $11.76 to close at $20.76.þIntuit Inc. (INTU) stock also jumped Wednesday, on news that the maker of finance software's losses will be lower than expected.
Intuit rose nearly 19 percent, or $8.56, to end the day at $54.62. Stamps.com Inc. (STMP) was helped by Intuit's gains, rising 33 percent on news that Intuit will use its Internet postage service. Stamps.com added $1.19 to close at $4.75.þDSL.net Inc. (DSLN) continued its upward trajectory after having more than doubled Tuesday on the announcement of its deal to provide bandwidth to IBM.þThe stock gained another 40 percent Wednesday, or $2.51, to close the day at $8.73.þOne big loser Wednesday was Visual Networks (VNWK) . The Internet traffic management company fell on news that it will post higher losses and lower revenues than expected. The stock plunged nearly 37 percent, or $3.96, to $6.84.þLarge-cap techs rose, and Internet stocks fared better, with CMGI (CMGI) and DoubleClick (DCLK) among those posting large gains. Applied Materials (AMAT) also enjoyed a boost Wednesday, up 4 percent, or $3.43, to $85.43.