Toronto stocks rose as crude-oil prices fell in morning trading in spite of Hurricane Ivan’s damper on production in the Gulf of Mexico. At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 19.77 points at 8,486.80 on a volume of 122 million shares.

In New York, crude futures were down US43¢ at US$43.15.

In Toronto, strength in the broader market overcame weakness in energy and technology issues.

The drop in oil prices had the energy group down 0.3%.

Technology shares slipped 0.7% as investors vented their frustration with Nortel Networks. The company warned this morning that its third-quarter revenue will be lower than the second-quarter total while full-year growth is expected to trail the industry.

Nortel said its third-quarter revenue will be below the US$2.6 billion preliminary unaudited revenues it reported for the second quarter.

Nortel now expects that its 2004 revenue percentage growth over 2003 will be in the mid single digits, and that the overall communications equipment market will grow faster than that.

Nortel shares fell 35¢, or 7%, to $4.57 in heavy trading of 26 million shares.

Shares in Celestica continued to fall, slipping 32¢, or 2%, to $16, after falling 13% yesterday. The firm issued a profit warning on Tuesday.

Petro-Canada shares were down 62¢ at $62.25 after Finance Minister Ralph Goodale refused to comment on rumours that the federal government is on the verge of a selling its stake in the firm.

Norbord Inc. shares fell $1.76, or 12%, to $12.69 after news that Brascan Corp., a major shareholder, is selling part of its stake in the wood panel maker for $127.5 million.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 3.57 points to 1,522.21

In New York, stocks moved higher buoyed by a drop in crude-oil prices and tame inflation data which eased fears the Federal Reserve could turn to a more aggressive policy on interest rate hikes.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 26.18 points at 10,257.54,

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 8.31 points to 1,904.83, buoyed by a rebound in semiconductor stocks and Internet shares.

The S&P 500 climbed 2.70 points to 1,123.07.

On the economic front, the Labor Department reported only a modest 0.1% rise in consumer prices for August. Excluding food and energy, inflation also rose 0.1%.

The inflation data was better than expected. Economists were expecting both inflation gauges to rise by 0.2%