Tech stocks rallied across the board Tuesday following the holiday weekend respite. Blue chips finished off the day much as they began, as the NYSE jumped 227.89 to 10,527.13, while strength in Internet issues helped rocket the Nasdaq higher 254.21 to 3,459.32. The ISDEX joined in the celebration roaring 9.76%.

The usual basket of bellwether suspects led the Net march, with Internet service provider America Online off to a flying start, up 5-1/16 to 53-9/16. Following its 2-for-1 stock split last week, online auctioneer eBay was performing nicely, climbing 5 to 66-15/16.

Business-to-business stocks showed some signs of recovery after a brutal month of May. Shares of B2B vortal community VerticalNet bounced 5-1/16 to 34-1/4, still nearly 80% from its 52-week high. B2B incubator Internet Capital Group tacked on 3-13/16 to 29-5/8, and Freemarkets leapt 8-13/16 to 46-1/16, still 85% off its 52-week perch.

Shares of Big Blue added 3-3/16 to 110-1/8, after the computing giant announced plans for a new e-marketplace that brings together telecom providers and wireless plays in a B2B exchange named e2open.com. Set to open its doors this July, the IBM venture is backed by $200 million from Crosspoint and Morgan Stanley.

Shares of newlyweds Lycos and Terra Networks were rebounding from the honeymoon fallout. CMGI's David Wetherell has conspicuously sat on the fence to patiently observe events as they unfold, creating a drag on investors' enthusiasm for the mega-merger deal. Lycos soared 5 to 64 nevertheless, while Terra edged 3-3/8 to 45-7/8.

Freeserve soared 15-1/2 to 72, on continued takeover speculation that has Britain's largest ISP being snatched up by Deutsche Telekom. Freeserve is majority-owned by electronics brick-and-mortar parent Dixons, which has confirmed reports that it has been considering offers from interested parties.

Word on the Street has sputtering chic e-tailer Boo.com's remaining assets bought up by UK-based Bright Station for $400,000, markedly shy of the $150 million VCs put up for the start-up's initial rounds of financing.

A number of scheduled IPOs are in a holding pattern, despite today's impressive showing from anxious investors. High-speed Web access concern chello broadband put its debut plans on ice until next week citing ongoing strategic discussions. The start-up is expected to float 27 million ADR shares between $11.88 and $15.53 under the ticker CHLO.