Markets are making modest gains in light trading today, with the Yom Kippur holiday keeping many traders away. The S&P/TSX composite index is up 11 points to 7,530.

Volume is quite light at 104.7 million shares, with the buying trumping the selling by an 11 to eight margin. Market breadth is also bullish, as winners outnumber losers 25:22.

Tech stocks are leading the way higher once again, with general optimism about the recovery boosting the sector 1.3%. There are also solid gains in real estate stocks, energy, gold and diversifieds. Most other sectors are up modestly, but some sector-specific news is dragging down the health care group.

The weakness in health care is being led by Biovail, down another 7%, as the slow-to-respond investors pick up on its earnings warning news from last week. Volume is quite heavy at 1.5 million shares.

Biovail isn’t the only company with bad news in the sector. Axcan Pharma has also dropped 9.2% on news that its Helicide treatment failed to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It says that the FDA has not raised safety or efficacy issue, but that FDA inspection-related issues for one of the five manufacturing sites remain unresolved and were the basis for this “not approvable” letter. Helicide was approved in Canada in the second quarter of fiscal 2003.

Other losers today include Shoppers Drug Mart, Rogers Communications, Fairmont Hotels, Sentra Resouces and First Calgary Petroleums. Golds such as Yamana Gold, Wheaton River, and First Quantum are sliding.

The big story on the upside is the Quebec-based convenience store chain, Alimentation Couche-Tard, which is up 13.5% on news that it is about to become the fourth-largest convenience chain in North America.

ACT says that it has reached a deal with ConocoPhillips to acquire the Circle K Corp. for US$830 million ($1.12 billion Canadian), including US$9.1 million in assumed debt. Once completed, Couche-Tard will have a combined network of 4,630 stores.

The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals and closing conditions. It is expected to close in December, 2003. Couche-Tard was advised by Trefethen & Co., LLC and by National Bank Financial Inc.

Nortel is holding up the tech end, gaining 1.2% on relatively light volume. Research in Motion has added 4.4%, and there are also gains in Celestica, Sierra Wireless, Cognos, Ballard Power, Hip Interactive and Astral Media. However, BCE is down 1.2%.

In the financial sector, Manulife Financial remains the top story. Today it is down just 0.2% in active trading. Scotia, TD Bank and National Bank are all making gains.

Barrick is leading the gold group higher with a 0.5% gain. There is also strength in assorted names such as Cameco, EnCana, Dorel Industries and Abitibi. Extendicare a is also rallying back too.

In other business news, Enbridge Inc. says that it will spend between US$550 million and US$650 million to build a new pipeline between Wisconsin and Illinois.

In New York, the Yom Kippur holiday is also keeping trading volume light. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 16 points so far to 9,588. The Nasdaq composite index has added seven points to 1,888. The S&P 500 is up five points to 1,035.

Even the small caps are playing along today. The S&P/TSX Venture index is six points stronger at 1,382. Volume is lighter than usual at 27 million shares. Netseers Internet is leading the trade, up 1.5¢ to 3¢ on 2.8 million shares.