Markets are drifting Tuesday in the absence of any major economic news. The Bank of Canada met everyone’s expectations by holding the line on interest rates. As a result, the S&P/TSX index is down just three and a half points at midday to 6,937.

Volume is still decent at 103.7 million shares, with the selling outpacing the buying by an 11:7 margin. Market breadth is split almost dead even between winners and losers.

No sector has moved as much as 1% in either direction. Health care is the strongest group, up 0.86%. Telecoms and consumer discretionary stocks are up. Techs are diversifieds are down, but nothing has dropped as much as even 0.5%.

With no dramatic direction, the staid, boring financials are weighing on the market. Royal Bank is down another 0.4% today in active trading. National Bank and TD Bank are down, too. Scotiabank is flat.

Nortel is sliding down 1.6% on decent volume of 9.3 million shares. And, Zarlink has dropped 2.5%, but ATI is up 2.8%, and Telus has gained 2.5%.

Elsewhere, Quebecor World is a bit weaker on strong volume of 1.5 million shares. It announced that it will repurchase10 million subordinate voting shares for cancellation.

Air Canada is falling back a bit today. There is weakness, however, in Canadian Natural Resources, Slater Steel, Stelco, Agrium, Neurochem, Bennett Enviro, and Westaim.

Inco is also down 3.5% in active trading, on news that as a result of the strike by its unionized production employees at the company’s Ontario operations, it will not be able to continue the supply to its regional marketing units of certain nickel, copper, cobalt and other products. The company’s regional marketing units around the world will, accordingly, be declaring force majeure under certain of their sales contracts, reflecting their inability to continue to supply such products under those contracts until production at the Ontario operations resumes.

On the upside, there is modest strength in EnCana, and gains in names such as Shaw Communications, Hudson’s Bay, Aeterna Labs, Vincor, Masonite International and Resolute Energy.

In other business news, MDS reports that it has appointed a new CFO.

In New York, markets have also had a rather lazy day without direction, gyrating around its opening level. The Dow Jones industrial average is currently up nine points to 8,908. The S&P 500 is up four points to 971. The Nasdaq composite index has gained 10 ticks to 1,601.

The S&P/TSX venture index is similarly mellow, up less than a half a point at midday to 1,091. Volume is strong at 19.4 million shares. Donner Minerals is leading the trading, gaining a penny to 21.5¢ on 1.4 million shares.