Stocks are receiving a bit of a drubbing Tuesday, as negative corporate news weighs on traders. At midday the S&P/TSX index is down 48 points to 6,437.

Volume is average at 84.5 million shares, with the down volume swamping the up by about seven to two. Market breadth is also negative, albeit not as radical, with losers outnumbering winners by about 11:7.

The selling would be unanimous today, if it weren’t for a little buying in the financials. Everything else is down. Techs are off 3%, and there is notable weakness in telecoms, consumer stocks, golds and materials.

The banks are providing some support to the market, as traders jockey their holdings in anticipation of bank earnings season. Royal Bank is leading the way, up 0.6%, joined by CIBC and Bank of Montreal. TD Bank is up a little. And, Scotia is down 1% in active trading. Power Financial is higher, too.

This buying action in the banks is weighing against drops in volatile names such Bombardier, Nortel Networks, Celestica and Cognos. Royal Group Technologies is down after announcing its latest earnings performance.

There is also notable weakness in the golds, with Kinross down almost 6% after announcing a new bought deal. There is also selling in Echo Bay Mines and TVX Gold. Bow Valley Energy is weaker too.

On the upside, apart from the banks, there is some buying in Saputo, Falconbridge and Western Oil Sands.

In other financing news, Canadian Utilities Limited has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, and including TD Securities Inc., for a $150-million bought deal of its own.

In New York, stocks have been down much of the morning. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average is off by 34 points to 8,453, following some positive economic news, but weaker corporate results. The S&P 500 has lost four points to 896. Nasdaq is down 17 points to 1,377.

The small caps are bucking the trend today, with the S&P/TSX Venture index gaining two points to 950. Volume is strong today at 15.5 million shares. The top trader is Cybersurf, up 6% to 18¢ on more than 1.7 million shares.