Banks and high-tech stocks propelled Toronto, markets while high expectations dampened some blue-chip earnings and helped send U.S. markets lower.

At midday, the S&P/TSX was up 63.64 points or 0.72% at 8852.57, while the TSX Venture exchange increased 2.23 points or 0.13% at 1664.95. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial lost 35.69 points or 0.36% at 9897.69. The Nasdaq was ahead by 3.67 points or 0.19% to 1915.17 and the S&P 500 was down 0.49 of a point of 0.04% to 1107.71.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.19 of a cent at US79.64¢ a day before the Bank of Canada is expected to hike interest rates by a quarter point.

On Bay Street, tech stocks led the way higher — up 1.76% — with Nortel Networks Corp. up 2.88% on trading of almost three million shares. Research In Motion was also strong, up 1.44%.

Financial were ahead 1.32% as insurance companies bounced back after they were dragged down by comments from New York Attorney general Eliot Spitzer, and Canadian banks were strong after the new chairman of the House of Commons finance committee said on Friday that mergers between Canada’s biggest banks and top insurers are “going to happen” if the financial sector requests it. Shares of Great-West Life jumped 2.6% as diod stock on Canadian Western bank.

Elsewhere, shares of Iamgold were down 9.75% after its proposed merger with Gold Fields Ltd. was thrown into doubt Monday as South Africa’s Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd. made a bid for Gold Fields. Harmony’s US$8.1-million US deal would create the world’s largest gold miner by ounces produced and is contingent on Gold Fields shareholders nixing the Iamgold deal.

In New York, 3M, the maker of Scotch Tape and Post-It notes says third-quarter profits rose nearly 17 per cent despite increasing raw material price pressure. However, earnings and sales fell short of Wall Street expectations and the company warned that full-year earnings would fall slightly below forecasts. 3M shares were off 4.78%.

Mattel Inc., the world’s largest toy maker, said third-quarter profit fell 5.2 per cent due to lower worldwide sales of its flagship Barbie doll line and its Hot Wheels and Matchbox toy car brands. Mattel shares retreated 52 cents to US$17.45.

Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues slipped 17.33 points, or 0.16%, to 10,965.62.

In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng Index fell 24.46 points, or 0.2%, to 13,034.74. The index gained 24.05 points, or 0.2%, on Friday.

London’s FTSE 100 index was 8.8 points ahead at 4,631.5. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 and the Paris CAC 40 were flat.