Stocks are grinding lower once again today in the absence of any news to lift the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the market. The S&P/TSX index is down 26 points at midday to 6,495.

TSX volume is very weak at just 80.7 million shares, as the uncertainty surrounding a possible U.S.-led military strike against Iraq is keeping many investors on the sidelines.

Volume favours sellers over buyers by a four to three margin. Market breadth is also bearish, with losers outnumbering winners 10 to seven.

On a sector basis, every group on the TSX is grinding lower at midday. Traders can only be pulled off the couch to buy individual stories it seems, not whole sectors.

No sector is selling that aggressively either, only the golds are down as much as 1%.

Telecoms and materials are notably weaker, but the overall feeling is one of stasis rather than selloff.

Placer Dome is leading the gold group down, sliding 1.7% in active trading. Barrick is going the other way though, up just 0.2%. Bema Gold, Agnico Eagle and Meridian God are all down. But, Iamgold is stronger.

BCE is leading the telecom group lower, sliding 1.3%, as traders wait to see whether it is plunging deep into the sports entertainment business.

The financials are down modestly, following a 0.7% slide in TD Bank and moderate selling in Royal Bank. Manulife Financial is up 0.4%.

Other losers include Air Canada, ATS Automated Tooling, Sico, Potash, Southwestern Resources and Agrium.

Nortel is up a little today in relatively light trading. Other gainers include Ballard Power, Gildan, Chum, Teck, Nova Chemicals and Paramount Resources.

Bennett Environmental is up more than 5%, on news that it has recorded a fourth quarter profit of $5,456,360. For the full year, profit was $12,542,851, up 165% from a year earlier.

Husky Energy is up more than 2% on news that it has posted net earnings of $804 million in 2002, an increase of 23% compared with $654 million in 2001.

In other news, Axcan Pharma reported 82% growth in net income as compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2002.

On the M&A front, San Francisco Boutiques is selling 12 stores to Boutique Tristan & Iseut Inc. for approximately $2.5 million in cash. The acquisition should be finalized by the end of February.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is little changed, down a point to 1115. Volume is quite weak there too at just 18.7 million shares. Manitou Capital is the day’s top trader, down 6¢ to 20¢ on 1.6 million shares.

In New York, traders are also having a hard time finding reasons to buy stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 41 points at midday to 7,944. The S&P 500 is four points lower at 839. The Nasdaq comosite index is up three points at 1,305.