The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index closed down 75.40 points to 6955.63, today. Slipping below the 7000 mark, the drop marks a snag in general efforts to regroup from losses incurred after the Sept. 11 attacks.

TSE volume was light with 124 million shares changing hands. Market momentum was negative with 440 issues advancing and 535 declining. In Toronto, 12 of the 14 sub-indexes were down. Oil and gas stocks felt the pull of falling commodity prices. That sector slipped 2.19%.

The techs retreated, led by Celestica Inc It dropped $3.22 to $53.00. C-MAC Industries Inc fell C$1.74 to $37.51.The tech-heavy industrial products sector fell 1.48% today. Research In Motion Ltd. countered the trend, climbing 4.5% to $26.89.

Bank stocks fell 1.06%. Loan defaults have become a worry following the Sept. 11 attacks. Bank of Nova Scotia, expected to be hardest hit by defaults, fell $1.43 to C$45.02, while National Bank slid 59¢ to $25.40.

Transport stocks gained on the day, climbing 0.45 percent on the back of Canadian National Railway which rose 88¢ to $61.88. On the other hand, beleaguered Air Canada fell for the fifth straight session. It closed down 11¢ for a third-consecutive low of $2.12.

South of the border, equity markets held on to their gains from the previous week. The Dow Jones industrial average rebounded from morning losses to close up 3.46 points at 9347.62. The NASDAQ composite index finished the day 0.42% lower, down 7.09 points to 1696.31.

The Canadian dollar reached an intra-day high today of $1.5560 – marking a return to pre-Sept. 11 levels. It traded around the $1.5575 mark for the rest of the day.