Markets make gains as buying trend returns

The TSE 300 is up about 31
points so far. Volume has been
decent at almost 60 million shares.
Decliners are barely edging
advancers, and the down volume
is a few shares ahead of the up
volume. Market’s breadth is
fairly even.

Yesterday’s decision by the U.S.
Federal Reserve Board to hold the
line on rates has returned the
markets to the good old days of
the bull market. Financial
services and utilities are on
the way up, while the golds are
giving up some of their recent
gains.

TD Bank is back leading the
buyers among the financials.
Fairfax Financial is up too,
after some recent losses. The
banks and insurers are driving
the financials higher.
Manulife continues to lag.
The firm’s stock is down to $17.30,
hitting its all-time low $17.25 on
an intra-day basis this
morning.

Nova Chemicals Corp. is
being bid up. The firm recently
announced that it won its bid to
buy a roster of European chemical
manufacturing plants from
Royal Dutch/Shell Group in a
$185-million deal.

Call-Net Enterprises Inc.
now says that it is willing to
listen to bids from BCT.Telus
Communications Inc. The
BC-based telephone company is
rumoured to be on the acquisition
trail. It will apparently begin
the wooing after Call-Net’s
shareholder meeting on October
14.

The Montreal Exchange has
followed the TSE upward, gaining
about 11 points. Alberta is bid
up more than five points. The
VSE is flat to up.

In New York, stocks are
following much the same script.
The Dow is up more than 100
points at midday. Nasdaq has
added 47 points, despite some
problems with its trading
software, which have kept some
of the alternative trading
systems on the sidelines. The
S&P is up about 16 points.