Investors Sit Out ThursdayInvestors Sit Out Thursday

A notably nondescript session on Wall Street left the major indexes almost unchanged Thursday, as investors appeared to sit on the sidelines waiting for news to act upon. Volumes were low, and volatility was minimal.

Other than a drug approval that sent shares of Pharmion up nearly 50%, what little drama did unfold centered on telecom and networking issues. Tellabs' $1.9 billion acquisition of Advanced Fiber Communications was the big event of the day, and investors greeted it with a mixed reaction. While Tellabs fell $1.24, or about 13.5%, to $7.95, AFC rose $2.13, or 12.7%, to $18.96. Tellabs was the most actively traded stock for the day, with nearly 68 million shares changing hands, while AFC ranked seventh. Meanwhile, Ciena fell 53 cents, or $13.66, to $3.35 after posting a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Technology bellwethers Cisco Systems, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and Yahoo outpaced the market, gaining between 0.3% and 1.1%. The Nasdaq-100 also fell in that range, gaining 11 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $34.80.

Our information 100 fell 2.01 points, or 0.7%, to 302.05, and the Nasdaq fell 1.58 points, or less than 0.1%, to 1,896.49. The Dow was virtually stagnant, falling less than one-tenth of a point, to 9,937.64. The S&P 500 was our only index to finish in the black, rising half a point, or 0.05%, to close at 1,089.18.