Stocks slumped yesterday as disappointing results from market leader Dell Computer fuelled concern that the long-running bull market in technology stocks might be over.

Another aggressive sell-off near the close left the Dow Jones industrials sharply lower after erasing a strong lead, while investors drove the Nasdaq composite lower all day in disappointment over Dell's earnings.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 101.56 points to 9,195.47, having bailed out of a 77-point loss in the morning and risen as much as 68 points before retreating a second time.

In the wake of Dell's slip, other computer-related shares were mostly lower, including Hewlett-Packard.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 17.82 to 1,224.05, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 64.88 at 2,248.99.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a seven-to-four margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,093 up, 1,944 down and 549 unchanged.