By Gavin Adamson

(March 13 – 17:00 ET) – Technology stocks led the way down today as investors looked to take profits. The TSE edged down by 25.57 to 9461.57. Just three sub-sectors dipped, but they were the tech-laden industrials and the utilities sectors. Nortel dropped C$2.70, to $177.80, and its parent company, BCE slipped to $173.50, down $4.

The CDNX notched up by 2.25 to 4457. The index is sub-divided into oil and gases, which inched up, and the techs, and golds and minerals index, which each slipped.

The Dow slipped by 49.56 to 9879.26. More than two stocks fell for every one that jumped on the NYSE today. Financial services stocks edged up a bit. The S&P dropped 16.81. Walt Disney Corp. was among the big loser. Warren Buffett’s quarterly report indicated Disney has fallen out of his favor.

Buffett, who is chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, hasn’t performed particularly well during the tech run up, but investors still listen to him. He said investors are “wildly optimistic” about the future earnings potential for many tech related companies.

Nasdaq closed down 127.56 to 4,921.06, after dropping more than 200 points at one point. Microsofot and Qualcomm were among the hardest hit. On the other hand, Intel and Dell, who expect to have good earnings next quarter, saw their share prices climb.