NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Internet stocks carried the day in the technology sector Wednesday, helping lift the floundering Nasdaq composite index out of negative territory to close 1 percent higher.
Tech stocks across the board took a dive in early trading, sending the tech-rich Nasdaq down more than 125 points, with semiconductors -- which have been the market's darlings -- bearing the brunt of the decline.
But falling oil prices brought the bulls out of their pens, sending most tech stocks higher in afternoon trading.
"You have to continue to buy the stocks that are leading the market, and for the foreseeable future, that means technology," said Francis Gannon, senior vice president and portfolio manager at SunAmerica Asset Management in New York.
The Nasdaq ended the session up 49.33 at 4,897.17, while the broader markets also posted strong gains on the day.
 Internet stocks bounced back the highest. The Dow Jones composite Internet index added 9.91 to 489.15, a 2 percent gain on the day.
Online software vendor Beyond.com (BYND: Research, Estimates) was among the day's biggest percentage gainers, adding 1-5/8, or 31.7 percent, to 6-3/4. The company on Tuesday said it had renewed its contract with the Internal Revenue Service to electronically deliver and maintain Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) software on roughly 130,000 IRS desktop computers. Microsoft shares rose 2-11/16, or 2.9 percent, to 95-9/16.
Other big dot.com winners Wednesday included online auctioneer, eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates), up 21-3/16 at 184, a 13 percent gain; Inktomi (INKT: Research, Estimates), which added 14-9/16, or 9.2 percent, to 172-13/16; Network Solutions (NSOL: Research, Estimates), up 16-3/64 at 423-7/16, a 3.9 percent advance; and Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), which rose 5-5/8, or 3.3 percent, to 177.
B2B is the place to be
IBM threw its weight behind the blossoming business-to-business e-commerce market Wednesday. Big Blue is teaming up with i2 Technologies (ITWO: Research, Estimates) and Ariba (ARBA: Research, Estimates) in a B2B alliance. The news sent Ariba shares up 6-1/2, or 2 percent, to 331. i2 added 22-3/16 to 190-5/8, a 13.2 percent gain. Meanwhile, IBM shares rose 2-7/8, or 2.8 percent, to 105-7/8.
Shares of Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates) rose nearly 11 percent, closing 8-3/16 higher at 83-1/2. The database software maker announced that it had teamed with Chevron and a division of Wal-Mart to create an online exchange that will link convenience stores with their suppliers using Oracle's electronic-business platform.
VerticalNet (VERT: Research, Estimates) shares added 16, or 6.7 percent, to close at 253-1/2, after it said it would buy Tradeum, a privately held B2B Web company, for roughly $500 million.
On the downside, Internet Capital Group (ICGE: Research, Estimates), a holding company that focuses on B2B Web companies, sank 3-3/64 to 138-1/8 after announcing that it would spend $655 million for RightWorks, a privately held software company specializing in business-to-business electronic commerce.
Elsewhere among B2B Web outfits Wednesday: CommerceOne (CMRC: Research, Estimates) shares added 12-1/4, or 4.9 percent, to 263-1/8; OpenMarket (OMKT: Research, Estimates) edged up 11/16 to 58-1/4; RazorFish (RAZF: Research, Estimates) slid 1-9/16 to 35-1/16, a 4.3 percent decline; and pcOrder.com (PCOR: Research, Estimates) slipped 2-1/16 to 31-3/8, a 6.2 percent decline.
Hardware makers soar; chips left behind
Computer equipment makers also finished strongly Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs computer hardware index ended the day 9.95 higher at 582.23, a 1.7 percent gain on the day.
PC maker Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) advanced 1-3/16, or 2.6 percent, to 46-15/16. Gateway (GTW: Research, Estimates) rose 1-13/16 to 65-1/16, a 2.9 percent gain on the day.
Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard (HWP: Research, Estimates) slipped 2-1/8, or 1.5 percent, to 140-7/8. Compaq (CPQ: Research, Estimates) fell 5/16 to 26-7/16, a 1.2 percent decline on the day. Shares of Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates) edged down 7/8 to 122.
Computer-networking-equipment maker Cisco Systems (CSCO: Research, Estimates) edged up 5/16 to 132-3/8. Lucent Technologies (LU: Research, Estimates) slipped 1/4 to 68. Nortel Networks fell 1-9/16 to 120-7/8.
 However, semiconductor stocks failed to catch the buying wave that washed through the broader market Wednesday. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange's semiconductor index, or Soxx, ended the day 21.57 lower at 1,242.17, a 1.7 percent decline on the day.
Shares of Intel, which announced the release of its gigahertz-speed Pentium III microprocessor Wednesday, slipped 13/16 to 114-15/16. Meanwhile, Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: Research, Estimates), which beat Intel to the punch, rolling out its own gigahertz-speed Athlon processor on Monday, tumbled 1-3/8, or 2.5 percent, to 53-5/8.
Other chip losers Wednesday included: Broadcom (BRCM: Research, Estimates), which ended the session down 8-1/2, or 3.5 percent, at 234-1/2; Triquint (TQNT: Research, Estimates), which slid 6-15/16 to 107-1/16, a 6 percent decline; Texas Instruments (TXN: Research, Estimates), down 8, or 4.4 percent, at 172; and Motorola (MOT: Research, Estimates), finishing 7-7/8 lower at 169-7/16, a 4.4 percent decline on the day.
Wednesday's chip winners included: LSI Logic (LSI: Research, Estimates), up nearly 2 percent, ending the session 1-7/16 higher at 64-7/16; Linear Technology (LLTC: Research, Estimates), up 6-9/16 at 97-9/16, a 7.2 percent gain; and ST Microelectronics (STM: Research, Estimates), which added 11-3/8, closing 5.8 percent higher at 208-5/8. 
--From staff and wire reports
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