Toronto stocks drifted lower in light trading Monday as investors worried about corporate earnings and waited for an announcement on U.S. interest rates due tomorrow.

The TSE 300 lost 39.56 points to close at 6,799.

On September 17, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board cut rates by 50 basis points. On Tuesday, the Fed is expected to cut rates by at least 25 bps. The Bank of Canada will likely match any cuts announced by the Fed.

Overall, 12 of the TSE’s 14 sub-indices closed lower. The transport sub-index led the way down, plunging 5.33%. Golds and financial services posted slight gains.

Market momentum was negative, with 536 declines and 458 advances. Trading was tentative as just 80 million shares changed hands.

Among the most active issues, Nortel Networks shed 27¢ to $8.58; Bombardier climbed 49¢ to $12.09; and Canadian Pacific fell $2.08 to $46.80.

Other losers today included Air Canada, which fell 29¢ to $3.35, and Research in Motion, which fell $2.50 to $22.90.

Trading was active on the Canadian Venture Exchange. Volume of 28.8 million shares, with 179 advances, 171 declines and 494 issues unchanged. The CDNX Index shed 24 points to 2,814.94

In New York, major indices began the fourth quarter on a down note. Although, the Dow Jones industrial average ended with a slight loss Monday, the Nasdaq composite index fell 1.4% as techs struggled.

At the close, the Dow was down 10.73 points at 8,836.83, while the Nasdaq slipped 18.34 points to 1,480.46. The S&P 500 dipped 2.39 to 1,038.