NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Technology stocks continued to rise Wednesday as gains in network gear makers like Juniper Networks fueled a modest rally in the sector.
The tech-laced Nasdaq Composite index rose 26.83 points, or 1.4 percent, to close at 2,020.98. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index finished 9.92 points, or 2.1 percent, higher at 476.34.
Shares in networking equipment makers were broadly higher, led by Juniper and Ciena Corp. Investors placed bets on who might benefit from SBC Communications Inc.'s 5-year plan to expand its fiber-optic network with an investment of $4 billion to $6 billion.
Juniper (JNPR: up $2.49 to $23.35, Research, Estimates) shares jumped nearly 12 percent, while Ciena (CIEN: up $0.41 to $3.54, Research, Estimates) stock surged more than 13 percent.
Shares of SBC (SBC: up $0.18 to $24.25, Research, Estimates) ended Wednesday's session slightly higher.
But 3Com Corp. stock fell after the network equipment maker reported disappointing revenue from its joint venture with China's Huawei during the fiscal fourth quarter.
3Com, which reported a loss on Tuesday after the market closed, had overall satisfactory results, but its Hong Kong-based joint venture results were "disappointing," Wachovia Securities analyst Stephen Koffler wrote in a research note.
Shares of 3Com (COMS: down $0.35 to $6.51, Research, Estimates) fell about 5 percent on the news.
EBay Inc. said it would buy India's biggest online auctioneer, Baazee.com, for about $50 million, extending its global expansion to the burgeoning Asian market. Ebay last year paid $180 million for China's most popular online auction site, EachNet Inc.
Shares of eBay (EBAY: up $1.14 to $88.35, Research, Estimates) rose slightly higher on Wednesday.
In the land of dry and lonely IPOs, Salesforce.com's stock shot up more than 56 percent in its debut on Wednesday, making it a top performing initial public offering this year and recalling the heyday of the 1990s Internet boom.
Unlike many of its failed brethren from the dot-com boom, Salesforce (CRM: up $6.20 to $17.20, Research, Estimates) has carved out a profitable niche of providing Web-based software designed to help companies manage customer relations.
Among some of the other notable techs, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: up $0.01 to $28.30, Research, Estimates) edged up, while Cisco Systems (CSCO: up $0.75 to $23.97, Research, Estimates) rose more than 3 percent.
JDS Uniphase (JDSU: up $0.22 to $3.80, Research, Estimates) and Intel Corp. (INTC: up $0.48 to $28.52, Research, Estimates) also fared higher.
The four stocks, along with Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI: up $0.01 to $3.01, Research, Estimates), were the five most actively traded stocks on the Nasdaq.
-- from staff and wire reports
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