Technology stocks shot higher yesterday as three straight sessions of heavy selling, which culminated in Monday's market collapse, compelled bargain hunters to grab battered shares.

A late afternoon rally accounted for much of the market's gain, with the Nasdaq composite index climbing 91.43 points to close at 2,014.81, according to the latest data. The Dow Jones Industrial average added 81.58 points at 10,289.83.

On Monday, the Dow suffered its fifth-largest ever point slide, a drop of nearly 440 points, or 4.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq fell 128 points, or 6.3 per cent to a low unseen since mid-December 1998. The sell-off came amid chronic concerns about US economic health - worries compounded by Cisco Systems' news of massive layoffs.

A year ago this week, the Nasdaq and Standard & Poor's 500 reached all-time highs. With Monday's sell-off, the S&P 500 was in bear territory, which is defined as a 20 per cent plunge from the high.