US stocks opened in mixed trade with the markets dragged down by profit-taking on technology and biotechnology stocks.

The new record high set by technology stocks on Monday's Nasdaq index proved short-lived. From a peak 2180.29 points on Monday, the index was down 17.81 points at 1520 GMT on Tuesday.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was also down 24 points at 9202.

Internet stocks however continued to outshine other sectors, dealers said. On Monday, the strong performance on Internet stocks was fuelled by a report which showed that Christmas shopping online more than tripled this year from 1997 levels.

America Online gained 13-1/4 at 149-15/16 and online broker E Trade was up 1-3/4 at 58-1/2. But the wider technology sector fell victim to profit-takers with IBM down 1-3/8 at 187-15/16 and Hewlett Packard easing 11/16 to 68-7/16.

Car manufacturer DaimlerChrysler continued to perform well after Monday's report of a strong rise in full-year sales, moving up 1/8 to 98-3/8.

Despite today's falls, traders said they expect the market to stage a comeback before the end of the week.