Toronto stocks closed lower for the second day on Wednesday as technology shares fell on more profit-taking. The S&P/TSX composite index shed 25.45 points to close at 7,571.06.

Market sentiment toward tech stocks was hurt after Texas Instruments Inc. reported a revenue outlook for the third quarter that was below some analyst estimates.

In Toronto, the information technology sector fell led by a 4.71%. Gold stocks fell 1.65%, while telecoms stocks slipped 1.06%.

Tech bellwether Nortel Networks closed down 21¢, or 3.75%, at $5.39. Smith Barney downgraded its ratings on Nortel to “underweight” on valuation grounds.

Zarlink Semiconductor lost 56¢, or 7.3%, to $7.12 and Celestica lost $2.83, or 10.68%, to $23.67.

Research In Motion fell $3.34, or 7.1%, to $43.82.

Sobeys retreated for a second day, losing 55¢, or 1.7%, to $31.45. The firm released disappointing results on Tuesday and said it would not meet its earlier forecasts. Sobeys was also downgraded by research firms Research Capital Corp. and Dundee Securities on Wednesday.

Among the session’s winners, the energy sector advanced 0.77% gain and heavily weighted financial services sector gained 0.53%

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 0.80 to 1,361.37.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled as investors rushed to cash out of many of the technology shares that had fueled the rally’s latest run.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 49.62 points, or 2.6%, to 1,823.81, its biggest one-day%age slide in a month. The broader S&P 500 slipped 12.24 points, or 1.2%, to 1,010.93. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 86.74 points, or 0.9%, to 9,420.46.

Stocks slid further after 14:00. ET following reports that Arabic news network Al Jazeera had aired what it said was a new videotape of Osama bin Laden and his top deputy on the eve of the of the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

The Canadian dollar finished little changed against the U.S. dollar, holding steady as remarks by Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge seemed to mirror those made after last week’s rate cut.

The loonie finished at US73.17¢, down slightly from US73.19¢ at Tuesday’s North American close.

Speaking in Vancouver on Wednesday, Dodge said Canadian economic growth should strengthen toward the end of 2003, despite weakness caused by SARS, mad cow disease and other one-off shocks.

Dodge conceded that growth would likely fall short of its full potential in the quarter to Sept. 30. But he said that last week’s interest rate cut was already helping the economy.