By James Langton
(March 20 – 13:00 ET) – As expected, markets have been rather subdued, preceding tomorrow’s U.S. interest rate announcement. However they are decidedly positive. The TSE 300 is up 147 points to 9,676, although volume is comparatively light at 89.5 million shares. Volume is 3:1 in favour of buyers and advancers are about 4:3 ahead of decliners.
Of the TSE’s 14 groups, only the energy stocks and consumer products are down. Everything else is in the black. Utilities are leading the way. They’re up almost 3%, joined by strong moves in media stocks, industrials, miners and even golds.
The TSE’s giants are wrenching the market higher at midday. BCE is up 3% on 1.6 million shares, dragging up BCE-family stocks such as BCE Emergis and Nortel Networks, and other techs, such as Wi-Lan, Celestica and MDSI Mobile Data. Seagram is leading the media stocks, up almost 4%.
On the downside transports are negative, as are biotechs and both integrated oils and oil and gas producers. But the big losses are in the software group. 724 Solutions is down more than 6%, Certicom has dropped more than 7% and Open Text has dropped 10%.
The energy stocks are heavily traded this morning on some M&A news. EdperBrascan Corp. has announced that it will sell its 39% stake in Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. to an investment dealer syndicate for $26.30 per share, or $618.8 million. Meanwhile Duke Energy Corp. says it is buying 20%, or 25 million shares, of Canadian 88 Energy Corp. at $2 per share.
Things are also relatively quiet among the small caps. The CDNX is up 48 points to 4,505 on just 45 million shares. Each of the miners, energy stocks and techs are conspiring to drive the index higher. Price Manufacturing Inc. is the hottest trade again, up 33% on 2.9 million shares.
In New York the action has also been light but positive in the cyclicals, and light but negative in the techs. The Dow is up 115 points to 10,710. Nasdaq has dropped 32 points to 4,766. The S&P is up two ticks to 1,466.