Toronto stocks are mixed as security concerns continue to dog equity markets. At midday, the composite index is off 15.27 points at 8,63.21, with 135 million shares changing hands.

Information technology shares are down 1%.

Tech bellwether Nortel Networks is down 5¢ at $6.91, while ATI Technologies is up 30¢ at $19.19.

The energy sector is down 0.93% as the price of oil eased.

Petro-Canada shares are down 80¢ to $56.10 after the Canadian government announced today it would sell its remaining 19% stake in the energy company.

Gold shares are 0.46% higher. Placer Dome is up 1¢ to $23.11, while Northgate Exploration is up 2¢ to $3.25 and Wheaton River is up 1¢ to $4.18.

Shares in WestJet Airlines are up 81¢ higher at $25.60 after the discount airline announced its board of directors has approved a three-for-two stock split, subject to shareholders’ approval. A year ago, the stock traded around $16.

Western Oil Sands Inc. is raising $68 million by issuing common shares to investors. The oilsands operator has struck a bought deal to sell two million Class A shares at $34 each to a group of underwriters. The share issue is expected to close by April 8. Western Oil shares are down 7¢ to $33.86.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index is down 7.48 points at 1,849.44.

On Wall Street, stocks are holding near the unchanged mark on at midday. Concerns about the economic recovery’s staying power is keeping buying sentiment in check.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average is up 12.81 points to 10,077.12. The broader S&P 500 is up 0.06 of a point at 1,095.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index is off 2.49 points at 1,907.41.