Toronto stocks were little changed at midday as investors waited for the flood of corporate earnings reports to highlight winners and losers.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 4.55 points at 9,022.28. Volume was 110.8 million shares.

Seven of the TSX index’s 10 main groups were lower, led by a 1.27% fall in the health-care sector and a 0.53% drop in industrial stocks. Telecommunications issues were down 0.45%.

A 0.26% rise by energy issues and a 0.33% gain in the technology sector cushioned the fall, as did a 0.71% rise by the gold group, which is a member of the larger materials index.

Among individual stocks, Nortel Networks added 14¢, or 3.41%, to $4.25.

The tech bellwhether finally released restated 2003 results on this morning, but said it cannot commit to a specific date for the release of its full 2004 financial results.

Energy stocks edged higher as oil prices held above US$45 a barrel, with a winter cold spell in the eastern U.S. expected to increase demand for heating oil.

Talisman Energy climbed 49¢, or 1.51%, to $32.91 after it said it is investing $3.1 billion in exploration and development for 2005, up about 15% from last year.

Strong markets and a spree of acquisitions helped CI Fund Management Inc. more than double its second-quarter profit, despite a $53 million charge to compensate fund holders for trading violations, the fund manager said on Tuesday.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index was off 11.41 points at 1,769.64.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks dropped on after a weak start to the earnings season with a sales warning from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

AMD’s warning provided an ominous sign for the technology sector before bellwether Intel reports its earnings later on Tuesday.

At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 62.84 points, or 0.59%, at 10,558.14. The S&P 500 Index was down 7.48 points, or 0.63%, at 1,182.84. The Nasdaq composite index was down 16.30 points, or 0.78%, at 2,080.74.