THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Logs Second Straight Distribution Day.(B)

Byline: CHRISTINA WISE

For the third time in as many days, the Nasdaq watched an early gain fade into a loss Thursday. By the time the closing bell rang, the composite index was down 1.2%.

Traders unloaded chip names, including 02Micro International, which plunged 3.22 to 17.55. Volume nearly quadrupled. The stock had been near the top of the base it had begun back in September 2000. It's now 31% off its high.

Elantec Semiconductor fell 4.43 to 30.62, leaving it well beneath its 200-day. Volume tripled.

Marvell Technology Group sank 3.41 to 30.69 on more than two times its typical trade.

A number of medical stocks also had a rough day. Shire Pharmaceuticals Group tumbled 8.67 points, or nearly 27%, to 23.78, its lowest close since September 1999. Trade was extremely heavy. The drug maker warned that sales of its attention deficit disorder treatment Adderall could shrink this year. It blamed the earlier-than-expected introduction of a competing generic drug from Barr Laboratories for the potential sales downturn.

Bradley Pharmaceuticals slid 4.47 to 16.63, landing beneath its 50-day and 30% short of its Feb. ...