A mixed trading day has produced little price movement on the major indexes today. So far, the S&P/TSX index is down just four points to 7,703.

Volume is on the weak side at 74.6 million shares, with buyers outpacing sellers by about 13 to 10.

Market breadth is also slightly bullish, with winners outnumbering losers by about nine to eight.

Some slightly discouraging economic news in the United States, in the form of higher than expected jobless claims, has dampened enthusiasm for economic recovery.

As a result, many sectors are moving in modest ranges, not buying or selling off aggressively. Industrials, techs and financials are all down. But golds, energy, telecoms and utilities are up.

There’s weakness in a variety of big cap names today. Celestica is leading the techs down, dropping 4.4% in active trading. Other tech losers include Zarlink Semiconductor, Basis 100 and Ballard Power.

The biotechs are also weaker, with Biovail and QLT both down about 3%.

Against the tech weakness, there are gains in Nortel Networks and ATI.

Financials are modestly weaker at midday, led by TD Bank. It is down about 0.8% in active trading on news of its latest earnings. It generated just $132 million in profit in its latest quarter, thanks to tougher credit conditions.

Scotia is down a bit, too, but Manulife and Bank of Montreal are both gaining a little to offset some of the weakness.

Other notable losers include Alcan, Rio Alto, Masonite International and Air Canada.

Golds are generally stronger, led by a modest gain in Barrick. There’s also strength in Fort Knox Gold, and resource firms such as Echo Bay Mines, Teck and Abitibi.

One gold name that’s much weaker is Iamgold, which is down about 7% on news that the firm and certain shareholders have entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by RBC Capital Markets for a $28 million bought deal.

There is also strength in names such as Imax, Canadian Medical Labs, Aeterna Labs and CoolBrands.

In other news, ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. reports that it earned $192,000 in the first quarter, and $12.6 million in 2001.

Enterra Energy Corp reported earnings of $3.15 million in the first quarter.

Canadian 88 Energy Corp saw its first quarter earnings slide to $1,265,000 in 2002.

Northgate Exploration reported a loss of US$3,533,000 for the quarter.

In the U.S., market action has also been rather restrained, as traders struggle to find some compelling direction. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 13 points to 10,257. The S&P 500 has gained a point to 1,092. The Nasdaq composite index is down six ticks to 1,720.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is posting a small gain today too, up five points to 1,162. Volume is on the light side at 15 million shares. Allican Resources Inc. is the top trader, down 9¢ to 58¢, on volume of 494,000 shares.