After leading the way up on Monday, technology stocks helped push Toronto markets lower Tuesday morning as investors took profits on their Nortel Network Corp. holdings. On Wall Street, no news proved to be bad news as U.S. markets traded sharply lower.

At midday, the Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite was down 21.55 points or 0.12% to 9539.65 after a 38-point jump Monday. The junior TSX Venture Exchange dipped 3.94 points or 0.23% to 1693.53.

On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow industrials were 82.31 points or 0.79% lower at 10302.03 after a 39-point gain the session before. The Nasdaq composite fell 16.28 points or 0.82% at 1963.39, while the S&P 500 index was off 10.62 points or 0.9)% at 1168.22.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.08 of a cent at US80.81¢.

In Toronto, tech shares were the biggest loser, falling 1.71% with Nortel leading the way down. Nortel was off 14¢ or 4.32% to $3.10 after adding 25¢ on Monday. Research In Motion Ltd. continued to climb, adding 24¢ or 0.34% to US$70.26.

The TSX energy group was 0.31% as a barrel of light crude was quoted at US$52.70, up 67¢, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Elsewhere, the TSX consumer staples group was up 0.17% as news from the grocery business dominated early Canadian business news. Grocery chain operator A&P – formally known as Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. – said Tuesday it will seek a buyer for its A&P Canada division and divest its U.S. Midwest operations.

Observers have said the most likely bidders for the stores are rival supermarket chains Metro, which operates predominantly in Quebec, and Nova Scotia-based Sobeys, the No.2 grocery chain in Canada. Sobeys shares were down 30¢ to $36.85 and Metro shares rose 14¢ to $27.90.

Elsewhere in the sector, the parent of No.1 supermarket firm Loblaw Cos., George Weston Ltd., said quarterly earnings were down 17.4% to $100 million amid restructuring. George Weston shares were down $1.47 to $109.89.

In New York, a dearth of good news led stocks lower Tuesday as oil prices climbed and investors lacked any reasons to place bets on the market.

Wall Street’s now-chronic concerns about whether the economy will slow down or whether inflation will take hold wiped out the moderate gains of Monday, when merger news gave the market a shot of optimism.

A rise in oil prices didn’t help the mood. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $52.70, up 67 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Many investors are concerned that high gasoline prices will either drive other prices higher or curtail consumer spending.

In company news, Morgan Stanley fell $1.25 to US$49.40 as Chief Executive Phil Purcell told an investor conference the Discover card spinoff would impact revenues at Morgan Stanley, and that the second quarter was shaping up to be difficult. Company executives also said more employee departures could be forthcoming, but that the company had a deep pool of talent.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.11%. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5%, Germany’s DAX index dropped 0.83%, and France’s CAC-40 lost 0.56%.