Blue-chip stocks bounced back on Wall Street yesterday from a steep slide, with the profit-taking behind Monday's sharp downturn easing just as the Dow slipped below 9,000.

The Dow Jones industrial average initially extended Monday's 214-point plunge by another 128 points, but reversed course before midday and finished 16.99 points - or by 0.2 per cent - higher at 9,133.54. The morning slide had pulled the Dow as low as 8,987 and 400 points from last Monday's record mark of 9,374.27.

The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 11.65 to 1,175.28, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 54.21 to 2,003.75.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange.