Stocks have repeated their recent patterns today, sliding at the open and rallying through the morning.

At midday, the TSE 300 is up 83 points to 6,952.

Volume is weaker today at 71 million shares, with buyers ahead of sellers more than three to one. Winners have a five to four edge on losers.

Energy stocks are leading the way higher in the wake of the latest takeover action, the sector is up 3.4%. Also, paper stocks are rallying aggressively and there are also run ups in miners, techs, utilities, transports, financials and conglomerates. Golds are down, as is real estate and odd consumer sectors.

Today’s action is centered in the energy sector, as OPEC suggests it may cut production and takeover activity remains heavy.

The latest takeover target, Canadian Hunter is up a bit on 2.6 million shares. Rio Alto has gained 9.5% on 2.8 million shares. There are also heavy gains in PanCanadian Energy, Alberta Energy, Compton Petroleum, Bonavista Petroleum and Ensign Resource Services. Talisman Energy and Anderson are making smaller gains, too.

Techs are bouncing back today, with Celestica leading the way up about 5%. There are also gains in Stelco and Cameco.

The downside is being led by Quebecor, off 10% in active trading. Cogeco is weak, as is GTC Transcontinental, Air Canada, Telesystem International Wireless, Aliant and CP Ships.

Glamis Gold is leading the way down, off 9% on news that it has entered into an agreement with Research Capital Corporation, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and National Bank Financial Inc. for a $40 million bought deal at $5 per share. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to finance the costs of the Marigold Millennium project development program.

In other news, George Weston has arranged to sell 4.2 million of its Loblaw Cos. common shares pursuant to a preliminary short form prospectus filed by Loblaw. The transaction was underwritten at $48.50 per share through a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC World Markets Inc. Weston has also arranged, through Bank of Montreal, for a secured debt financing with a syndicate led by BMO Nesbitt Burns and Merrill Lynch. Gross proceeds of both transactions will total approximately $669 million to be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of debt issued in the acquisition of Bestfoods Baking Co.

At a time when most firms are cutting staff, or at least thinking of it, Kasten Chase Applied Research has launched an employee recruitment campaign to expand its secure commercial applications group.

BCE Emergis says it has been included into the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, a global index tracking the performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. It includes 312 companies from 62 industries in 26 countries.

Finally, Celestica has completed its acquisition of Omni Industries Ltd., a diversified Asian electronics manufacturing services provider headquartered in Singapore. Celestica will issue to Omni shareholders approximately 9.2 million subordinate voting shares and will pay cash consideration totaling US$475 million.

In New York, the same trading trends are evident, as a broad rally takes hold. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 150 points to 9,201. The Nasdaq composite has added 28 points to 1,598. The S&P 500 is up 16 ticks to 1,073. The strongest sectors are airlines, paper, networkers, semiconductors and energy stocks. Ongoing talk of a large stimulus package in the U.S. is boosting optimism.

The CDNX is bucking he up trend today, down three points to 2,834. Volume is light at 10.5 million shares. Techs are down a bit, miners are flat and energy plays are up nicely. International Starteck Industries is the top trader, up 29% to 9¢ on 348,000 shares.