Toronto stocks finished lower for the second consecutive day on Thursday as earnings news from IBM and Nokia dragged tech stocks lower. The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 12.66 points at 7,069.35.

IBM earnings met, but failed to beat, expectations, while Nokia posted weaker earnings and warned of a soft outlook.

In Toronto, the TSX information technology sector fell 4.22%. Health care shares fell about 2%.

Big decliners included Nortel Networks, off 26 cents to $3.97, and Celestica, down $1.78 to $21.72.

The energy, utilities, materials and consumer staples sectors all ended in positive territory.

The junior TSX Venture composite index also closed higher, edging up 2.02 points to 1,108.46.

In New York, the tech stocks fell heavily on the news from IBM and Nokia. The tech-laced Nasdaq composite lost 49.95 points, or 2.86 percent, to close at 1,698.02.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average dropped 43.77 points at 9,050.82, while the broad S&P 500 fell 12.27 points to 981.73.

The Canadian dollar slipped half a cent to close at US71.62 cents, after the Bank of Canada cut its growth outlook to about 2% this year, with a revival to just over 3% in 2004. The central bank also predicted Canada’s inflation will dip below its 2% target.