December 30, 1999

Hijackers holding 154 hostages in Indian Airlines jet at airport in Afghanistan drop two of their demands, but continue to insist that India release jailed Pakistani Muslim cleric and 35 others whom Indian government considers terrorists opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir; hijackers drop demand that India hand over $200 million and body of slain militant after representatives of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia tell hijackers they have violated conditions of landing in Afghanistan by adding demands for money and body; Taliban is playing increasingly important role in efforts to end six-day-old crisis; Indian government, which does not have diplomatic relations with Taliban, nevertheless praised Taliban for its efforts to negotiate with hijackers; map (M)

Nasdaq Ends Above 4,000 And Is Up 84% For the Year The Nasdaq composite index, on its way to the best year ever for a major American stock index, closed above 4,000 for the first time. The milestone came less than two months after the index first topped 3,000 and was based largely on the strength of the technology stocks that have come to dominate the Nasdaq market. The index rose 69.35 points, or 1.75 percent, to 4,041.46, and is now up 84.3 percent since the end of 1998. Three stocks in the index have gained more than 1,000 percent this year, with Qualcomm, a leading company in mobile phone technology, surging 2,444 percent since the end of 1998. [Page A1.]

New York City and education officials say Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani's goals in Education Board's search for new schools chancellor are to control process without appearing to and to assure that candidate's credentials will help boost his Senate campaign; notes success in education is missing from his growing campaign 'arsenal' of accomplishments (M)

Astronauts test collapsible private crew quarters designed by team of NASA architects for International Space Station; architect Garrett Finney comments; photos (M)

Invasion of full-service brokers does not seem to be slowing Charles Schwab Corp, which is now leading online brokerage firm; company says first quarter in which it faced head-on competition from Merrill Lynch & Co and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter will be its most profitable quarter ever; expects to earn $162 million to $171 million in quarter ended Dec 31; Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have taken dead aim at Schwab with recent introductions of online trading services for same $29.95 commission that Schwab charges; Richard Strauss, analyst at Goldman, Sachs, says he does not think those competitors pose immediate threats to Schwab's growth, though other analysts disagree; Schwab's chief financial officer Chris Dodds cites reasons for better-than-expected performance in quarter (Market Place column) (M)