By Gavin Adamson
(February 15 – 17:30) – The reversal of fortune continued in the markets today. Techs fared marginally and traditional cyclicals like oils pushing the indices up.
The TSE was led up by oil and gas issues like Suncor Energy, which pushed up by C$0.95 to $62.10. Talisman Energy put on C$1.85 to $41.10 despite all the press surroundung its involvement in Sudan. That sector as among six of the 14 sectors which pushed up. The usually buoyant BCE actually sank, dropping 75 cents to $173.25, while Nortel managed a $1.60 gain to $176.50. The index closed at 9,356.06, up 41.52.
Thomson was the big story today, carrying the media and communications sector higher. In announcing it’s new e-publishing strategy, the publisher of the Globe and Mail said it would divest itself of all other traditional newspapers, and concentrate on trade publications over the Internet. Investors liked the news and pushed Thomson to C$46.90, up $5.20.
It was much the same story in the U.S. The Dow leapt by 198.26 to 10,718.09, outperforming Nasdaq for the second straight day. Exxon Mobil, Honeywell and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing each helped out. Some of the financials, like American Express, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan also added.
NYSE gainers posted a 16-14 victory over losers. Nasdaq showed a 24-14 loss in favor of losers. The Nasdaq index still gained 1.86 to 4,420.41, thanks to a late market surge in some computer hardware, Internet and semi-conductor issues.
CDNX was dragged down to 3,363.50, 4.88 lower than opening.