North American closed lower Wednesday, one day after they surged ahead following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s optimistic forecast for economic growth. The main culprit was tech bellwether, Cisco Systems, which issued a disappointing revenue forecast, dragging down the tech sector.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX 500 composite index fell 63.02 points, or 0.77%, to 8,168.24. Information technology stocks plummeted 4.54%.

Among the TSX’s 13 sub-indices, only consumer staples, health care and real estate finished in the black. The remaining sectors followed the day’s downward spiral, including the financial group, which lost 0.36%.

Meanwhile, the junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 10.04 points, or 0.68%, to 1,470.97.

The Canadian dollar slid from US75.90¢ to close today at US75.45¢.

On Wall Street, techs took a beating. althought the broader market managed to battle back late in the session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell to a new low for 2004 before rebounding a bit, dropping 26.28 points, or 1.46%, to 1,782.42.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average slid 6.35 points, or 0.07%, to 9,938.32. The S&P 500 shed 3.25 points, or 0.30%, finishing the day at 1,075.79.