The Nasdaq composite index soared to a new record yesterday as US investors snapped up shares of Internet companies and software makers. The swing to technology stocks came at the expense of industrial stocks, which finished mostly lower.

At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down 50.97 at 11,028.43, a decline of 0.5 per cent. The blue-chip index had backed off from a gain of 62 points.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 6-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,605 up, 1,329 down and 589 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 802.51 million shares, against 766.94 million in the previous session.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.42 to 441.19.

The Nasdaq's strength came from hefty gains by online auction house eBay and Internet search provider Yahoo! A wide range of technology stocks also rose, including Microsoft and Cisco Systems.