Stocks are weaker on a series of string of corporate earnings disappointments in the United States. At midday, the S&P/TSX index is down 56 points to 6,747.

Toronto volume is robust at 138 million shares, with the selling edging the buying by a margin of seven to six. Market breadth is also negative, with losers outnumbering winners seven to six.

On a sector basis, the action is split. Golds are getting some safe haven bids, and there is modest strength in telecoms. But techs are down 2%, industrials are sliding, as are financials, energy names, diversifieds and consumer plays.

Nortel is leading the tech sector down, dropping 3.5% on volume of 17.7 million shares. There is weakness in Zarlink, Celestica and Dalsa, too.

The banks are big players on the downside, with Royal Bank, TD Bank and Scotiabank all off about 1.4% in active trading.

There is also weakness in big names such as Alcan, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor, Magna, WestJet, Teck and Molson.

All of this negative action is freeing up some traders to hide in the golds, boosting names such as Barrick, Placer Dome. There are also gains in names such as Wheaton River Minerals, Paramount Resources, Methanex, Tembec and Metallic Ventures. Other gainers include Synsorb Biotech, Four Seasons, Sterling Centrecorp, and BCE.

In M&A news, CGI Group has closed the acquisition of the Underwriters Adjustment Bureau Ltd. for $53 million in cash. The transaction is expected to be accretive to CGI’s fiscal 2003 earnings.

In New York, stocks are lower The Dow opened lower on some weak corporate results. And, at midday, it is down 84 points to 8656.

Dow component Alcoa Inc. said it will cut 8,000 jobs as part of a restructuring announced as the aluminum maker reported a wider fourth-quarter loss Wednesday

The S&P 500 has shed seven points to 916. The Nasdaq composite index is off 22 ticks to 1,409.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is up a point to 1,097. Volume is strong at 20.4 million shares. The day’s top trader is Spruce Ridge Resources, up 3¢ to 6¢ on 780,000 shares traded.