Stocks are sliding today on concerns about the strength of the U.S. recovery. There is no major economic news out to confirm or deny investors’ worries that the lack of job growth will eventually hurt consumer spending.

The S&P/TSX index is down 33 points to 8,768. Volume has revived a little, but is still not too compelling at 141.6 million shares. The selling action is ahead of the buying by a 17:15 margin. Market breadth is also bearish, as losers outnumber winners six to five.

The tech stocks are feeling the brunt of traders’ nervousness about the U.S. recovery. That group is down 1.8% at midday. Telecoms are also down more than 1%, and miners have dropped 1.6%. There is also some modest selling in consumer discretionary names, industrials and REITs. Against this, there is some strength in golds, utilities and energy stocks.

Nortel is leading the way lower, dropping 3%, with strong volume of 15.6 million shares. Telesystem International Wireless is down 7%, and Cedara Software has dropped 3%, too.

There is some weakness in the old economy names with Alcan down 1.3%. Inco has dropped 2.4%, and Inmet Mining is down sharply. CN is 0.9% lower on news that negotiations with the union representing 5,000 clerks and mechanics broke off after the company withdrew its latest offer.

Company-specific news is also hitting a couple of names. The film company Imax is down 6.7% on news that it lost $507,000 in the fourth quarter, dragging yearly earnings down to just $231,000 from $11.9 million last year.

Eldorado Gold is 4.3% lower after it reported a net loss of $45 million. A total of $44.6 million of the net loss is a direct result of three significant non-cash writedowns. This compares with a net profit of $1.8 million in 2002.

Placer Dome is down a little, but there is some safe haven strength elsewhere in the group, with Wheaton River up 4.4%. Barrick has ticked up a little, and Great Northern Exploration is up solidly.

Energy stocks are the other area of substantial support. TransCanada has gained 1.3%, Petro Canada is up, as is Fairborne Energy, Progress Energy, and AltaGas Services. Even Canadian Oil Sands Trust is recovering from its recent thumping, gaining 3.6% today.

Financials are the other area of safety, with small gains evident in Scotiabank and Royal Bank.

There is also some strength in Rothmans, Norske Skog, Thomson Corp. and Noranda. On the biotech side, Draxis Health and Inex Pharma are both up, but Biovail is down 6.2% in strong volume.

In business news, Conrad Black is suing his former firm, Hollinger International Inc., for $173 million for fees that he says he’s owed.

Sierra Wireless has appointed David McLennan as its chief financial officer.

In New York, stocks are sliding on fears about the strength of the U.S. recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 68 points to 10,461. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has dropped 10 ticks to 1,999.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is bucking the trend, gaining a point to sit at 1,925. Volume is solid at 42.4 million shares, led by ECU Silver Mining. It has gained 6¢ to 62¢ on 2.7 million shares.