By James Langton
(October 29 – 13:00 EST) – With the freshly-from-the-mound World Champion New York Yankees parading through Manhattan at noon all of Wall Street appears euphoric. Stocks are driving higher on the fumes of yesterday’s economic data and U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan’s comments last night.
Traders read Greenspan’s comments as positive for stocks. They’re rallying again, led by the tech stocks. The TSE 300 is up more than 1.2%, 85 points, at midday.
Unlike previous run-ups this week, which were basically a case of Nortel and a bunch of losers, today’s rally is showing some strength. Volume is good at almost 63 million shares. The buying volume is almost three times the selling and advancers are edging decliners.
Financials are driving the action again today on the feeling that interest rates may be staying where they are. Financials as a group are up more than 2%, with financial management firms up about 4%. Canada Life continues to trade well today, as does TD Bank and the Merrill Lynch tracking stock.
Financials aren’t alone in the rally either. JDS Uniphase is having a huge day, up more than 10% after a slew of upgrades from Wall Street. Bowater is up heavily in the wake of MacBlo’s disappearance. With other tech and transportation stocks joining in the fun.
On the downside real estate is the weakest group, but it’s not that weak. Odd stocks, such as whipping boy Open Text, are taking a pounding. But mostly the direction is up.
Stocks are generally following the up trend everywhere. The ME is up stronger than the TSE, 59 points. Alberta is up 10 points, while the VSE is flat.
In New York the rally is very strong, led by the techs. Nasdaq is up more than 3%, more than 90 points, in record territory. The Dow has added more than 130 points, while the S&P is up 27 points.