By James Langton

(April 6 – 13:00 ET) – Selling is hitting markets across the board, today, after several earnings warnings in the tech sector reversed yesterday’s rebound.

Markets opened on a loud down note, and recovered a little, but at midday stocks are weak again. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index is down 73 points to 7499. Volume is very weak today at a mere 54 million shares. Sellers hold an almost 2 to1 edge over buyers, and decliners are outnumbering advancers 25 to17.

Only gold is really resisting the slide, benefitting from the broad sell-off. Financials and merchandisers are resisting too.

Industrials are down almost 3% as the techs tank. Miners, utilities and consumer stocks are weak too.

Nortel Networks is leading the slide. It’s off 5% on 4.3 million shares changing hands. The general sentiment against techs is the culprit. This is catching up with JDS Uniphase, Alcatel, Pivotal, Celestica, Sierra Wireless, Exfo Electro and Research in Motion in its wake.

Biotechs are weak, led by Axcan Pharma. Blue chippers, Bombardier and Noranda, are also down in active trading.

Gildan Activewear is also taking the stock market equivalent of a wedgie, today. It’s down 6%, after it was revealed that Fruit of the Loom is suing it for allegedly scooping trade secrets from some of the underwear maker’s former employees.

The upside is coming in select stocks rather than in select sectors. Buyers have taken a shine to names such as Encal Energy, Inco, Veritas, Biomira, Enghouse, 724 Solutions, Petromet Resources, Finning International, Agnico Eagle Mines. The perennial bear market winner, drink-maker, Corby Distillers, is up 4% today.

Financials are actually holding up on the back of the big banks, but the insurers and fund companies are generally weak.

The CDNX is down 22 points to 2916. Volume is soft at 15.4 million shares. Miners are leading the way down, off 1.1%, followed by techs. Oils are flat. Montoro Resources Inc is the top trader. It’s up 12.5% to 9¢ on a little over 900,000 shares.

Onex Corporation has filed to renew its normal course issuer bid, permitting it to buy up to 10% of its shares.

In New York the markets are taking another beating, despite a brief respite in response to the Dallas-based Federal Reserve Bank president that the Fed will move to stem the slowdown tide.

Selling is worsening at midday. The Dow Jones industrials index is off 219 points to 9700. The NASDAQ composite index is down 63 to 1721. The S&P is down 30 points to 1121.