Toronto stocks were pushed down on Wednesday due to weaker tech issues and more anthrax scares in the United States.

The TSE 300 slid 70.09 points to 6,956.80, or a loss of 1%.

The industrial sub-index, home base to Toronto’s tech stocks, was up for most of the session but sank quickly at the close, finishing down 2.19%.

Celestica Inc. dropped $2.45, or 4.5%, to $51.50. The company release third-quarter earnings after the bell. Research In Motion fell $3.15, or 10.6%, to $.26.50.

Overall, 13 of the TSE 300’s 14 sub-indices finished lower.

Volume was moderate at109.8 million shares. Market momentum was negative with declines edging out advances 511 to 489.

Nortel Networks was the day’s top trader with more than 13 million shares changing hands to close at $9.25, off 20ยข.

Electronic publishing giant Thomson Corp. fell 8.3%, closing down $3.99 at $44.06, after cutting its 2001 revenue and earning targets, blaming market conditions and the September 11 attacks.

Thomson and Quebecor World Inc., which fell $1.30, or 3.7%, to $34.10, dragged the communications and media sub-index down 3.56%.

Transport stocks fell 4.21% as Canadian National Railway gave up its gains from the previous session, sinking $3.26, or 5.1%, to $60.50.

Trading was active on the CDNX today with a volume of 32.9 million shares, with 169 advances, 181 declines and 573 issues unchanged. The CDNX index closed down 4.04 at 2,881.93

In New York stocks fell on fears of anthrax scares in New York and Washington which overshadowed encouraging earnings news from J.P. Morgan Chase and IBM.

The Nasdaq composite index dropped 75.73, or 4.4%, to close at 1,646.34, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 151.26 or 1.6%, to 9,232.97. The S&P 500 lost 20.45 to 1077.09.

The Canadian dollar ended lower for the second consecutive session Wednesday, as currency players dumped thinly traded secondary currencies like Canada’s. The loonie closed down US$0.6365