Toronto stocks are flat at Wednesday midday as rising commodity prices have softened the blow from profit-taking in technology and financial issues. The S&P/TSX composite index has added just one point to 7,988.

On the positive side, the consumer discretionary, materials, and energy groups are all higher.

However, financial stocks, techs, and telecoms are lower.

In the tech sector, BCE Emergis is off 50¢ to $5.68 after releasing its forecast for 2004. ATI Technologies is down 50¢ to $19.32.

In telecoms, Telus and Manitoba Telecom Services are both lower.

Meanwhile, a rise in commodity prices is shares for base metals gold companies.

Falconbridge shares are up 2%, while Inco shares have risen 1.5%.

Goldcorp shares are off 1.9%. The company said its chairman and chief executive, Robert McEwen, exercised options on 5.525 million common shares worth $28.4 million.

Quebec retailer Boutiques San Francisco has filed for creditor protection. It shares have plunged 69%, from 78¢ to 30¢.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index is down four points to 1,654.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks slipped as investors locked in gains from the previous session’s heady run-up in the Dow amid mixed earnings news and a report of a new case of the SARS illness in Taiwan.

Overnight, Hong Kong shares fell 2.1% as trading volume soared to a 34-month high.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average is down 15 points at 10,114. The broader 500 is off two points at 1,072. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index has fallen dipped six points to 1,917.