Stocks opened down this morning, took a breather when the NYSE had a TSE-style tech flameout, but they’ve been heading lower since trading resumed in earnest at about 11:35 ET.

The TSE 300 is currently down about 79 points to 8112.

Volume is low, as traders all seemed to pause during the NYSE outage which began at about 10:10 ET. The TSE has traded just 61 million shares, with sellers outpacing buyers eight to three. Losers are outnumbering winners by about five to four.

On a sector basis, 10 of the TSE’s 14 sub-indices are flat to down. The weakest groups being industrials, down about 3%, and mines off 2%.

Energy stocks are also weak, but most of the other slides are minor. Media stocks, gold, pipelines and merchandisers are up.

The top trader today is Abitibi, down 5¢ on 5.3 million shares, after it was revealed that Quebecor has sold its stake in the firm.

Nortel Networks is powering the industrials lower. It has lost another 5% today on 4.2 million shares. Poor results from Juniper Networks are helping to take down the entire sector.

There are plenty of other tech losers, including Exfo Electro, Research in Motion, Sierra Wireless, Descartes Systems, C-MAC and Celestica. 360networks has dropped 30% to a little more than a buck per share in active trading, as investors give up on that stock.

Gulf Canada is flat today, moving 2.8 million shares, on the news that Conoco Inc. has formally begun its cash takeover bid. The offer is set to expire on July 13.

There is also weakness in the banks and other old economy stocks. Alcan is down 2.5% in active trading on the news that it will reduce aluminum production at its Kitimat smelter by 50%, due to low water levels. It will also sell excess power to the U.S. to help avoid layoffs.

On the upside, investors are taking refuge in Placer Dome, Alliance Atlantis, Reitmans, Zenon Enviro, Quebecor, Astral Media, 724 Solutions, and Tundra Semi.

In New York, traders didn’t take kindly to their unscheduled coffee break this morning. The selling began in earnest after the exchange reopened in the late morning. At midday, the Dow is down 141 points to 10,950. The Nasdaq composite index has dropped 60 points to 2,204. The S&P is down 16 points to 1,261.

The CDNX is the only positive spot on the continent. It is up two points to 3.359. Volume is strong at 18.7 million shares.

Mines are up, while techs and oils slide a bit. The top trader is Eastfield Resources Ltd, which is flat at 16¢ on 1.5 million shares traded.