Toronto stocks finished lower Monday as worries over corporate profits in the second-half of 2004 led to broad-based selling.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 68.76 points, or 0.82%, to 8,314.55.

The information technology sector fell 2.7% to lead all losing sectors, while energy stocks were down 0.6%.

Telecommunications equipment provider Nortel Networks fell 15¢, or 2.7%, to $5.40, while Research In Motion, closed down $3.57, or 4.5%, at $76.20.

Financial stocks were also a drag with Bank of Nova Scotia 35¢ lower at $36.00 and Sun Life declining $1.04 to $35.70.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 26.69 points, or 1.78%, to finish at 1,472.39, he sixth straight down day for the junior market.

On Wall Street, blue-chip stocks ended flat and technology stocks fell to fresh 2004 lows, as investors mulled over the possibility that corporate profit growth may slow in the months ahead.

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. weighed on the market after Merck & Co. Inc. and Schering-Plough Corp. (won U.S. approval on Friday to sell a 2-in-1 cholesterol pill called Vytorin, which competes with Pfizer’s $10 billion-a-year Lipitor.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite Index fell 10.07 points to 1,839.02, its lowest close since Oct. 2, 2003.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.30 of a points, at 9,961.92. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 2.13 points to 1,084.07, its lowest close since Dec. 17, 2003.

There was some positive news from financial services company American Express Co., which reported better-than- expected second-quarter profits, helped by growth in its credit card and asset-management businesses, as well as improved credit quality in its credit card portfolio.

American Express shares closed up 1.6%, or almost US79¢ a share, at US$48.90 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.