By James Langton

(March 6 – 09:15 ET) – The big news in Canada this morning is the Bank of Canada decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis. Economists were evenly split over whether it would move 25 or 50 bps.

Markets are pointing to a strong up open this. Techs are leading the way higher as bargain hunters continue to pile into names such as Veritas, Juniper Networks and Ciena.

There’s no other major economic news in Canada. In the U.S., fourth-quarter productivity slowed to 2.2% in step with the cooling economy, but worker output per hour still reached a 17-year high.

In Europe, stocks continue to claw their way back, led by tech and telecom bargain hunting. Alcatel SA, STMicroelectronics NV and Ericsson AB are leading the way higher. In London, the FTSE is up 57 points to 5,988. In Paris, the CAC 40 has gained 76 points to 5,444. The German DAX goes one better, up 77 points to 6,294.

In other news, DaimlerChrysler AG is going to sell more than US$2.8 billion in bonds.

In Asia stocks continued to recover, too. The yen is rallying again on news that the Japanese government may help prop it up. The Nikkei romped ahead by 366 points to 12,688. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added a more modest 186 points to 14,321.

In other business news, EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EFOS Inc. for 3.7 million EXFO shares and US$25 million in cash, making the deal worth approximately US$122 million.

CrossKeys Systems Corp. says based on preliminary unaudited financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2001, it expects revenue of approximately $2.4 million.