Wall Street stocks plummeted by more than 100 points in the first hour of trading as profit-taking hit the highly rate Internet sector and oil stocks. Last week rumours of a merger between oil giants Exxon and Mobil, boosted the market, while any Internet retailing stock was hot.

The Dow Jones index was down 110 points at 9,222 by 1535GMT.

In the broader market, the Standard and Poor 500 was off 12.32 at 1180.

The Nasdaq index, listing the shares of many high technology companies, was down 25.44 points, at 1,991.

Internet retailers like Books-a-Million, Amazon.com, and Egghead.com fell sharply as investors took gains after the extraordinary run-up of their prices last week.

But the most dramatic move was by Onsale, Inc, whose shares fell $55 from $108 at the beginning of the session.

Oil stocks fell back after the enthusiasm last week over the merger between Exxon, the largest oil company in the United States, and the second-largest US oil company, Mobil Corp.

Chevron shares, the biggest gainer on Friday, fell back after Wall Street changed its bet on whether the the oil company might be the next to be acquired.