Toronto markets, powered by technology stocks, continued to climb Wednesday morning, , while U.S. markets stumbled amid light trading.

At midday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX was up 44.37 points or 0.52% to 8562.78, while the TSX venture exchange was off 6.18 or 0.39% to 1562.78. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down slightly, by 4.21 points or 0.4% to 10390.86; the Nasdaq was ahead by 7.67 points or 0.35% to 2001.82 and the S&P 500 composite was ahead by less than a point to 1134.95.

On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX gained 45.68 points, while the Dow jumped 23.6 points.

On Bay Street, the technology sector was leading the way, up 1.6%, with Nortel Networks adding 14¢ to $6.39. Financial stocks were ahead by 0.62%

Canadian markets got some good news at the opening of trading with the announcement from Statistics Canada that wholesale sales increased 1% in April, posting their second-straight monthly gain after 12 lean months.

The Canadian dollar lost earlier momentum and was down 0.20¢ at US73.42¢.

On U.S. markets, trading was light and there was little news to drive investors. Analysts hope second-quarter earnings reports will provide a catalyst to move forward after the U.S. Federal Reserve Board ‘s June 29-30 meeting, when interest rates are expected to decline by at least a quarter-point and the June 30 return of sovereignty in Iraq. Until then, in the shadow of such significant events, investors will have little incentive to make commitments.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 stocks closed down 0.71 of a point at 11,580.56.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up 4.18 points, or 0.04%, to 11,849.77.

London’s FTSE 100 moved up 18.6 points at 4,487.1 just before the close.

In Germany, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 was ahead 0.5% while the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.6%.