Stocks are facing a mixed open this morning, with old economy names looking up and techs looking weaker as Microsoft Corp. slides. Yesterday, U.S. markets reacted rather soberly to the start of air attacks in Afghanistan and renewed fears of terrorist reprisals in the U.S. The Nasdaq gained just 0.65 of a point to 1,606. The Dow dropped 52 points to 9,068. The S&P 500 shed nine points to 1,062. Volume was light yesterday though with the Columbus Day holiday and no U.S. government bond market trading.

There’s some weakness in financials as Credit Suisse First Boston announces plans to cut 2,000 jobs in the face of losses.

There are a coupe of big M&A deals in the oil patch, with Royal Dutch/Shell Group buying Texaco Inc.’s stakes in two U.S. oil refining ventures. And Burlington Energy Resources Inc. is removing one of the remaining takeover targets, buying Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. for US$2.1 billion in cash.

In Europe, stocks are mixed too. The FTSE is up 20 points to 5053. The CAC 40 has dropped eight points to 4165. The German DAX is down 15 points to
4481, after German unemployment was reported up for the eighth month this year.

Overnight in Asia, markets were mixed. Japanese markets had Monday off, and overnight they dropped 194 points to 10012, as the U.S. initiated hostilities. The Hang Seng rallied though, gaining 391 points to 10359.

The only economic data is housing starts in Canada, which decreased by 7.6% in September to 156,600 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Urban single starts went down by 1.1% to an annual rate of 78,700. Urban multiple starts also declined by 17.8% to an annual rate of 55,400 units.

“The September decline is not related to the tragic events in the U.S. Starts in September reflect commitments and back orders made prior to September 11. The drop reflects mainly Ontario’s return to amore sustainable pace in the multiple starts segment after a strong performance in August,” said CMHC senior economist Philippe Le Goff.