By James Langton

(March 7 – 09:10 ET) – Stocks are poised for another opening rally today. Techs look to lead the way again. Goldman Sachs’ guru Aby Joseph Cohen is out making positive comments on the market, too.

The stock of WorldCom Inc. is up on takeover talk. And in a real sign for some analysts of the market bottoming out, JDS Uniphase Corp. rallied off bad news. The stock is up even after the company has dropped its profit forecast for the next two quarters.

There’s little economic news out in the United States yet today. In Canada it was reported that municipalities issued $3.8 billion in building permits in January, the highest monthly figure on record and an increase of 21.5% from December. Strong construction intentions in both the residential and non-residential sectors fuelled the gain, with $2.0 billion and $1.8 billion worth of permits respectively.

It was also reported that in February the Help-wanted Index decreased by 3.4% to 171, the second consecutive monthly decline.

In Europe, stocks are up very slightly in directionless trading so far. In London, the FTSE is up a point to 6,013. In Paris, the CAC 40 has gained seven points to 5,464. The Germany DAX is doing best, up 27 points to 6,311.

Overnight in Asia stocks were mixed, with techs providing the buying momentum. The yen remains weak though after Japan indicated it isn’t yet ready to defend the currency. The Nikkei closed up 36 points nonetheless, to 12,724. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 144 points though to 14,177.

In other news, Royal Host Real Estate Investment Trust is planning a $20 million offering in a bought deal led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. The underwriters have agreed to buy 3,390,000 units to sell to the public at a price of $5.90 a unit. The deal is expected to close on March 27.