Markets in Toronto and New York struggled for a fifth consecutive session as skittish investors sold off tech stocks and showed concerns over questionable accounting, declining profits and a slowing economy.

Toronto stocks slumped late in the day despite strength in the gold sector, and closed lower for the fourth straight session. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index was down 13.63 points, closing at 7,483.43.

Nine of the TSE 300’s 14 subindices were lower. Industrial products combined with metals and minerals to hold the market off possible gains.

Nortel Networks Corp. lost 24¢, closing at $9.71. Celestica Inc. lost $1.37, to close at $62.30.

Alcan Inc. dropped 70¢, to $59.40, while Inco Ltd. lost 69¢, closing at $27.55.

Market movement was generally down, with decliners outnumbering advancers 597 to 497. Volume was 175 million shares, worth $2.6 billion.

On the upside, gold stocks, which are up 22% so far this year, and up 7% in the past week, continued their surge based on higher bullion prices. Barrick Gold Corp. was up $1.07, to $29.95. Placer Dome Inc. swelled $1.30 to $21.35.

Oil and gas closed up 0.5%. Alberta Energy gained $1.76 to $66.01. Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd. reached a new 52-week high, closing up C$1.54 to $16.50.

Air Canada announced before the open that its net loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $380 million, or $3.16 a share. It closed down 15¢ to $4.70.

The Canadian Venture Exchange’s S&P/CDNX index moved up 4.64 points to 1,142.06.

Stocks generally slumped in U.S. markets, as a cautious outlook from Cisco Systems Inc. persuaded investors to sell off shares for the fifth straight session.

While Wall Street begins to see signs of improvement, concerns over the integrity of corporate balance sheets still hang over the market.

All three major equity indexes finished down for the fifth session in a row. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.95 points, to 9,625.44, after posting gains for much of the day. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 30.51 points, to 1,782.20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 3.32 points, to 1,080.19.

On a positive note, new numbers in the U.S. showed a drop in the number of U.S. workers seeking unemployment benefits. And for the first time in 15 months, stock analysts who are raising earnings estimates outnumber those lowering estimates, suggesting the worst of market declines may be over.