A strong performance from gold stocks couldn’t quite push Toronto stocks into positive territory Tuesday. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 29.88 points to 7,327.54.

Seven of the 13 TSX industry sub-indices lost ground, led by led by a 1.7% retreat in the information technology group and a near 1% drop in the financial index.

Golds, with a 4% rise, led the winning sectors. Placer Dome added 67¢ to $19.35; Goldcorp rose 80¢ to $15.70.

South of the border, IBM fell US$1.20 to US$75.94 after Morgan Stanley lowered its 2002 and 2003 earnings targets for the company.

In response, Corel Corp. dipped 15¢ to $1.47, while Cognos fell $2.76 to $32.77.

Nortel fell 2¢ to $2.68; BCE rose 6¢ to $27.76.

Aliant Telecom shares fell 44¢ to $28.91. The company said it would spend $85 million to expand its broadband network in Atlantic Canada to provide high-speed Internet access to more customers.

Talisman Energy shares rose 70¢ to $69.50 after the Indian cabinet approved a US$750-million purchase of Talisman’s controversial Sudan oil interests by India’s state-owned oil and gas company.

Lorus Therapeutics stock price gained 12¢ to 99¢ after the U.S. National Cancer Institute said it would include one of the firm’s anti-cancer drugs in a clinical trial.

The TSX Venture Exchange rose 8.37 points to 1,190.56.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18.70 points to 9,706.12. The Nasdaq composite index lost 10.52 points to 1,542.77, and the S&P 500 added less than a point to 1,037.11.

Investors were waiting for the earnings and revenue report from database giant Oracle. After the market close, Oracle reported its fourth-quarter earnings were in line with expectations, and said revenues were almost 10% higher than what analysts had been looking for.

The Canadian dollar gained ground in the wake of the best domestic manufacturing shipments report in almost four years. The loonie rose 0.11¢ to close at US64.71¢