North American stock markets shed their early gains as investors looked ahead to Tuesday’s announcement on U.S. interest rates from the Federal Reserve Board, and worried about weak U.S. economic data. The TSX/S&P Composite Index fell 4.78 points to 7,575.29.

Health care stocks were clear winners. The sector gained 1.35% as Angiotech Pharma soared $8.40 to $68.05. Angiotech shares were boosted by positive drug trial results.

Labopharm rose 85¢ to $6.95 after it announced the completion of the treatment stage for two Phase III clinical trials for the company’s lead product, a version of the pain reliever tramadol.

Among the day’s other gainers, Bombardier shares rose 12¢ to $5.62 after it announced a $1.2 billion contract to supply 30 regional jets to SkyWest.

Tech bellwether Nortel Networks rose 12¢ to $5.68 on a volume-leading 42 million shares.

Market momentum in Toronto was negative as decliners topped advancers 628 to 546. Volume was 234 million shares worth $2.32 billion.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 3.85 points to 1,378.40.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.74 points to 9,448.81. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index slipped 9.33 points to 1,845.70. The broader S&P500 shed 3.52 points to 1,014.81

Markets began to falter after a measure of industrial production in the U.S. rose by a smaller-than-expected amount.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.13¢ to US73.19¢ as the markets wait for Tuesday’s comments from Fed chair Alan Greenspan about the U.S. economy. An interest rate change is not expected.