Markets were poised to open higher this morning, when news of a plane crash near JFK airport in New York spooked markets into a sell-off. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, but fear that itÕs another terrorist act has driven trading downward.

At midday, the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index is down 54 points to 7155. Volume is weak at 57.6 million shares, with sellers leading buyers by a margin of about 7:4. Losers are outnumbering winners about 5:3.

Every group is down on the TSE today, except for golds, in a classic flight to safety. The hardest hit groups include miners, oils, transportation equipment, media stocks and financials.

In the wake of the plane crash, Bombardier is down more than 7%. Flight simulator maker, CAE, is off more than 4%. Air Canada is down almost 6%, and Fairmont Hotels and Four Seasons have dropped notably too.

The energy industry is also taking its lumps today. Active losers include Petro Canada, Talisman Energy, and Canadian Hunter. There’s also weakness in financials, led by CIBC. Nortel Networks and Zarlink are leading the techs down. CP Ships, Nexen, and Bell Canada International are weak too.

On the upside, gold stocks are higher, led by Franco Nevada. There are also notable rallies in Barrick, Placer Dome and Kinross Gold.

There are big gains in Telesystem International Wireless. Also, Celestica, QLT, Angiotech and CryptoLogic Inc are all up. CryptoLogic reports that it will make an offer to purchase for cash up to one million of its outstanding common shares by way of a Dutch auction process.

In other business news, Power Financial has today entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. under which they have agreed to buy 8 million 5.25% non-cumulative first preferred shares for $200 million. Closing is expected on November 29.

Also, Microcell Telecommunications Inc posted consolidated net losses of $120.0 million, and this compares with net losses of $114.2 million for the same three-month period last year.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average has been down as much as 200 points, but it is currently off about 144 points at 9464. The Nasdaq composite index has also regained its earlier losses. ItÕs down 20
points to 1809. The S&P is off 14 points to 1107.

The CDNX is weak today too, off 15 points to 3018. Volume is quite light at 9.8 million shares. Oils are leading the way down. Eurasia Gold Corp is the top trader, flat at 1¢ on 726,666 shares.