Stocks bounced back from early losses early, today, but the bounce wasnÕt high enough. It was fourth straight session when stocks finished lower than they began. Today they hit a 22-month low due to drops in the technology, metals and mineral groups.

The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index fell almost 70 points after the open. It closed 24.07 points, lower at 7344.70. ThatÕs the lowest close since Nov. 9, 1999.

Nine of the TSE 300’s 14 sub-indexes finished lower on Monday, led down by a 2.01% drop in the metals and minerals group, and a 0.7% drop in the industrial products group, which houses the technology stocks.

Nortel Networks Corp fell 37¢ to $8.34. BCE Emergis dropped 75¢ to C$29.75.

Volume was lighter than normal at 113.1 million shares worth $2.34 billion. Market momentum was firmly to the downside with 648 stocks declining, compared with 380 advancers and another 208 unchanged.

South of the border, stocks ended flat. Last week’s discouraging employment report is still being blamed for the result. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.34 of a point, ending at 9605.51. The Nasdaq composite index gained 7.68 to close at 1695.38 after losing 17.94 on Friday. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index moved up 6.76 to 1092.54.

The Canadian dollar rose slightly today, finishing the day at US$0. 0.639550.