Markets bide time awaiting inflation data

Tuesday brings the release of
U.S. retail sales numbers for
August. The numbers are expected
to be strong, which is a negative
for a market that’s already spooked
by concerns about inflation.

And Wednesday is the latest U.S.
Consumer Price index data, an even
more vital inflation barometer.

Traders saw little reason to
make big moves in their positions
in light of the impending numbers.

The wait-and-see approach
spelled a relatively light day on
the markets. The TSE 300 finished
off 45 points on volume of 104
million shares. The breadth
remained negative all day, about
9:7 in favour of the decliners,
although some afternoon buying
saw overall volume finish just 5:4
in favour of sellers.

Miners, golds, steel, brewers
and media stocks all dropped about
2%.

ATI Tech was the biggest
seller of the day in Toronto,
losing $1.50 on strong volume of
almost 5.5 million shares, more
than quadruple its usual volume.
An analyst at Warburg Dillon Read
downgraded the stock recently, and
it is being shorted and slammed on
Wall Street. Internet gossip
suggests that increased competition
from Intel and Motorola’s
deal for General Instrument
may also be hitting ATI.

The upside was led by the
transports, or more particularly by
Laidlaw, which attracted
interest after announcing that it
would divest itself of its U.S,
healthcare business and its
investment in Safety-Kleen.
Markets liked the news, although
the buying moderated after some
comments by Moody’s, which
says it may be hard to maximize the
value of the health care assets.

Paper stocks were the only other
TSE subgroup that finished on the
upside. MacBlo led the
buying, up 40¢ on the day.

In Montreal, stocks finished
down about 16 points, with miners
and oils the culprits once again.
Alberta closed up eight points,
while Vancouver joined in the
selling, closing off three points.

In New York, the Dow industrials
sat out the day in anticipation of
the inflation data. The Dow closed
up a mere two points. Nasdaq showed
a little more gumption, dropping
42 points on the day on weakness
from Internet stocks. The S&P
500 began the week with a loss of
seven points.