The Dow Jones industrial average retreated from 10,000 in mixed trading in New York yesterday as technology stocks held on to early gains but Coca-Cola dropped sharply on a disappointing sales forecast.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended at 9,913.26, down 93.52 points - or by 0.9 per cent - having trimmed an earlier 132-point loss.

Coke put a swift end to the Dow 10,000 party when it warned that first-quarter sales would be soft. The Dow's technology components, like IBM, stepped into the breach to minimise the losses, but it was not enough to keep the Dow index in positive territory.

Despite strength in technology shares, broader stock indicators fell.