Markets are bouncing back from earlier lows to post a slight loss at midday. The TSE 300 is off by 26 points to 7,747.

Volume is improved today at 57 million shares, with sellers edging buyers by seven to six. Losers outnumber winners by about nine to seven.

There are no major market moves today. Techs, miners, and transports are all down. Paper stocks are looking good, but there’s not much buying otherwise. Markets are generally lacklustre, awaiting some direction.

Small slides in blue chip names such as CP, Bank of Nova Scotia, and Sobeys, are grinding the market lower. Manulife Financial continues to give back recent gains, too.

Nortel Networks is down about 1% today in the wake of Cisco Systems’ results yesterday after the close. It is joined by slides in Siebel, Mosaid Technologies, Tundra Semi and Primetech Electronics. Other losers include Ballard Power, NPS Allelix and Co-Steel.

On the upside, Methanex is strong, after announcing a buyback. Bell Canada International is up, as are O&Y and Bombardier. Lighter volume gainers include, Cossette, Reitmans, Pivotal, Kingsway Financial, Maxx, and Richelieu Hardware.

In New York, stocks are down, too, but they are off early lows. The Dow Jones industrial average has shed 27 points to sit at 10,432. The Nasdaq composite is down four points to 2,024. The S&P 500 has dropped three points to 1,202.

The CDNX is down today, too, off just 20 points to 3,078. Volume is very strong at 22.2 million shares, although more than 9.8 million shares has come from top trader Visionwall, which is up a penny to 10¢ on heavy volume, thanks to some huge crosses.