Markets continue to rally

Again today, volume has been
rather light – just over 45
million shares traded through the
morning. The buying volume is
nosing out the selling, about
5:4. But the split is virtually
even between advancers and
decliners.

On a sector by sector basis
there is a slight bias to
bullishness too. Eight of the
TSE’s fourteen subgroups are up.
The media sector is leading the
way with a huge rally – up 5%.
Cinar and Seagram are
up strongly. Industrials and
conglomerates are also trading up
strongly. Nortel Networks
is enjoying a strong bid, up almost
4% in heavy trading.
ATI Technology is up smartly
too.

Gold is relatively flat, and the
consumer products sector is actually leading the losers on the TSE. Air Canada has been an active trader, down by 25¢ to $9.85, as the market digests the implications of its restructuring proposal. The thought that Air Canada’s proposal is effectively a poison pill that will prevent a bidding war for the stock seems to have cooled investors’ interest.

Montreal is rallying better
than Toronto at midday, it is up
almost 1.5%, or 50 points, with
most of its sectors on the buying
side. Alberta is up six points and
the VSE has added two points.

Much of the tech buying in
Canada, for stocks like Nortel
and JDS Uniphase, has come
on the heels of a strong tech-led
rally in the U.S. The Nasdaq is up
about 60 points so far today.
While New York’s broader markets,
the Dow and S&P, are up 72 and
13 points respectively.