The slow leak in the stock market is back again today. At midday, the TSE 300 is down 51 points to 7,519.

Volume is anemic at 47 million shares, with sellers outpacing buyers five to four. Market breadth is a little more negative, with losers outnumbering winners by about 19 to 13.

Almost everything is down today, with the exception of golds and miners. Apart from a 2.3% drop in techs, the slides are modest.

Ongoing profit fears have the techs sliding and consequent economic worries seem to be hitting everything else. Some of the bigger losers are oils, transports, conglomerates and financials.

Nortel Networks is shepherding the tech troops down today, off another 2% on 2.2 million shares. Weak forecasts from bellwethers such as Dell Computer are the reason.

Joining Nortel on the downside are names such as Celestica, C-Mac, Research in Motion, Leitch, Mosaid and Trojan Technologies. Ballard Power is building selling momentum, down another 10% today.

There are other losers, such as Southward Energy, Canada 3000, Global Thermoelectric, Wescat, Westport, Hydrogenics and Quebecor. CIBC and Royal Bank are leading the financials lower.

The upside is a sparse, mixed bag. Inco and Alcan are up, powering the miners higher. There are also small gains in golds such as Barrick Gold, TVX Gold, Kinross and Bema.

Other gainers include Corel, Derlan, MGI Software, Teknion, DuPont and Dimethaid. Laidlaw is up 43%, gaining 6¢ to 20¢ on heavy volume of 4.8 million shares.

CP is a loser today, down 1.5% on strong volume after announcing the terms of its divorce from itself. If the arrangement is approved by shareholders and by the court, each CP shareholder will receive 0.684 of a common share of PanCanadian Energy; 0.50 of a common share of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.; 0.25 of a common share of CP Ships Ltd.; 0.25 of a common share of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc.; and 0.166 of a common share of Fording Inc.

Stocks are weak in New York, although the action is a little more robust in the face of an options expiration. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 124 points to 10,269.

The Nasdaq composite index is off by 51 points to 1,879. The S&P 500 is down 19 points to 1,163. The evaporation of yesterday’s rally, coupled with weak economic data, is driving markets lower.

The CDNX is bucking the trend, up one point to 3,096. Volume is dreadful, though, at just 4.4 million shares.

Techs and oils have ticked up, mines are down. Neuro-Biotech Corp is the top trader in a very quiet market, up 17% to 7¢ on 189,000 shares.