Stocks are sliding once again as traders punish companies for weak earnings and forecasts. The S&P/TSX composite index is down 41 points to 7,609.

Volume is quite light today, with just 87.7 million shares changing hands. The selling volume is about double the buying. Market breadth is negative too, but out slightly. Losers outnumber winners by a margin of just 21:2.

Weak earnings news is slugging the tech sector once again today. It is down almost 3%. There is also weakness in industrials and financials. The sell off isn’t as broad-based as yesterday, though. Gold shares are up about 2%, and there is some strength in telecoms.

Nortel is leading the way down, following its latest earnings release, and weak earnings from tech giant Microsoft Corp. Both firms released their earnings after the bell Thursday. Nortel is down 7% on huge volume of 37.3 million shares.

Plenty of other techs are being thumped, too, with JDS down 10%. There is weakness in Zarlink Semi, Celestica and Sierra Wireless.

Outside of the techs, the financials are also slumping, led by a 1.2% drop in TD Bank. Bank of Montreal, Scotia, Sun Life and Manulife are all down in active trading.

CFM Majestic is a particular loser today, dropping 10.5% on news that its profits will not meet expectations.

Other, more moderate, losers include Inco, EnCana, Alcan, CN, Dofasco, Stelco, FNX Mining and First Quantum Minerals.

The golds are enjoying a rally on this tech weakness, with Barrick up 1.6%. Other gainers include Kinross, Great Basin Gold, Eldorado, Golden Star Resources, Gabriel Resources, Rio Narcea, Iamgold and Southwestern Resources.

There is strength in Telus, rebounding 2.5% today. And Certicom is a big winner, up about 50% on news that the U.S. National Security Agency has purchased extensive licensing rights to Certicom’s cryptography intellectual property.

In earnings news, Weyerhaeuser Co. has recorded third quarter net earnings of $82 million, on net sales of $5.2 billion. This compares with $13 million on net sales of $4.9 billion for the third quarter of 2002.

Canadian Utilities reports that earnings for its latest quarter were $43.4 million, compared with $44.4 million in the same period of 2002. Atco has recorded earnings of $22.7 million for its quarter, compared with $26.3 million in the same period of 2002.

On the M&A front, Quebecor Media has purchased the 50% of Les Editions CEC Inc. held by Hachette Livre S.A. for an undisclosed price.

In New York, the weak results from Microsoft and the general uncertainty are weighing on stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 69 points to 9,544. The Nasdaq composite index is 29 points lower at 1,857. The S&P 500 has lost 12 ticks to 1,020.

Somehow the small caps continue to buck the trend. The S&P/TSX Venture index is 11 points higher at 1,468. Volume is decent at 35.8 million shares. JNR Resources is leading the way, down 1.5¢ to 11¢ on about 1.2 million shares.