By Jeff Sanford
(June 15 – 13:00 ET) – Markets have remained largely neutral this morning, trading in a relatively narrow band. Scattered reaction to earnings reports have done little to move markets as investors continue to sit on the sidelines pending news from the Fed about an interest rate decision.
The TSE 300 flickers around the 10,000 mark. At noon the index stood at 10017.58, a slight increase of 0.46%. Trading volume at midday is light with 54 million shares trading so far.
The sub-indices reflect the neutral mood, six are up and six are down. On the upside, the consumer products is up 121 points, while industrial products has gained 239 points. On the down side, golds have dropped 54 points, while oil and gas is down almost 70 points.
Ranger Oil is down 3.5% on volume of 11 million shares this morning as Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. announced it has made a $650 million bid for the company. That bid tops a previous bid by Petrobank Energy and Resources and appears to put an end to the hostile takeover. The action has also shaved 4.3% off the price of Canadian Natural Resources shares.
Seagram is also active again today as speculation continues about a takeover by French conglomerate, Vivendi SA. It is up a quarter to $88.65.
724 Solutions has lost $4.25 to bring it to $82.25 while BC fuel cell maker Ballard Power has lost $3.50 to bring it down to $118.50
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average had added only 8 points by noon, while the NASDAQ composite is down 167 points.
The CDNX is also holding relatively steady. It’s lost 8.9 points to take it down 0.26% so far this morning.