Technology stocks slumped further yesterday as investors dumped the shares and raced into Wall Street's more traditional sectors. Analysts said profit-taking in the formerly high-flying technology sector and end-of-quarter "window-dressing", where fund managers pack their portfolios with the winners, were driving the shift away from the tech sector.

"People are beginning to believe two things," said Mr Joseph Barthel, chief investment strategist at Fahnestock & Co. "One is that, over the near-term, the Nasdaq is positioned to correct. And two, the fact that the Dow and the S&P have hung in there as well as they have makes Nasdaq a likely target of funds."

Nasdaq shares were broadly battered, with its biotechnology index sliding badly. Meanwhile, the Dow maintained its footing in positive territory amid gains in more traditional "old-economy" stocks such as Coca-Cola and Minnesota Mining.