North American stock markets closed lower Thursday as a dim outlook from Cisco Systems led investors to lock in recent profits. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 53.49 points to 6,384.42.

Overall, seven of the 13 TSX sub-indices lost ground, led by a 5.3% drop in the information technology sector.

Celestica fell $1.96 to $22.59; while Nortel Networks dropped 14¢ to $2.21.

Zarlink Semiconductors fell 49¢ to $4.75 after it reported a narrower loss but said sales would remain flat.

The heavily weighted financial index closed down 1%. CIBC lost 47¢ to $40, and Manulife Financial shed $1.06 to $34.80.

Shares in financial services firm Assante Corp. dropped 14¢to $7.40 after the Winnipeg company said strong results from its Canadian division helped produce a third-quarter profit of $5.7 million, compared with a $3.4-million loss a year ago.

On the Toronto stock market, 189.7 million shares were traded, worth $2.07 billion as decliners beat advancers 574 to 460.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange rose 3.9 points to 946.92.

In New York, the Nasdaq composite Index dropped 42.30 points to 1376.70 on Cisco’s less-than-rosy outlook. Cisco shares fell 61 cents to US$12.35.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.77 points to 8,586.24, while the S&P 500 index backed off 21.07 points at 902.69

The Canadian dollar was down 0.13¢ at US64.23.