U.S. markets were treading water Tuesday morning waiting to see what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will say in his economic report to Congress, while Canadian investors were more preoccupied with dumping their shares of Air Canada than watching the Bank rate.

At midday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was down25.11 points or 0.3% to 8389.69, while the TSX Venture Exchange was 11.87 points or 0.77% lower at 1531.43. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 10.19 points or 0.1% at 10104.25 after ending lower for the fourth straight session in a row Monday. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13.95 points 0.74% to 1897.78. The S&P 500 edged up two points or 0.17% to 1102.74.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.15 of a cent to US76.36¢ after the Bank of Canada left its key rate unchanged at 2% – but its accompanying commentary left currency markers unsure whether rates will go up in September.

On Bay Street, all but two of the TSX’s sub-indices were down. Only consumer staples and industrials were ahead. Diversifed metals were off 1.98% while technology issues were down 1.10%; financials fell 0.19%.

The most active stock was Air Canada, whose shares fell 32¢ or 30.5% to 73¢ after chief executive Robert Milton said anyone who holds fewer than 11,894 shares will get nothing when the stock is delisted on the Toronto exchange this fall. More than 10.1 million shares, 10% of the morning’s total volume on the TSX, had traded by midday Tuesday.

Shares in Molson continued to trade heavily – more than three million Tuesday morning — as the stock rose $1.25 to $34.70 on top of Monday’s 85¢ jump after the Canadian brewing giant confirmed it is in “active” merger talks with American brewer Adolph Coors.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s leading indicator, which provides a look at how the economy will perform down the road, grew 1.1% in June. The rise followed a 1.2% advance in May — together forming the largest increases since the spring of 2002.

In the U.S., Greenspan will deliver his semi-annual report on the economy to the Senate Banking Committee at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Meanwhile, U.S. housing construction was at its lowest level in just over a year in June. The number of housing starts came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.80 million units, an 8.5% drop from May’s level.

Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues was down 177.63, or 1.6% to 11258.37 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 43.32, or 0.4% to 12,123.63.

London’s FTSE 100 rose 25.7 points at 4,346.8.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 added 0.66% while the Paris CAC 40 edged up 0.45%.