Waiting on the Fed is the order of the day. Markets are unchanged as traders wait for a rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, expected around 14:15 ET. At midday, the TSE 300 is down four points to 8,006

Trading is light to average with 74.2 million shares moving across the tape. The up volume holds a seven to six edge over down volume. Advancers are outpacing decliners five to four.

On a sector basis the split is pretty even. Golds, paper stocks and pipelines are leading the way down. With mines and merchandisers and energy holding up the bid. But ultimately, there’s not much action in either direction just yet.

Gulf Canada is the top trader today, up 2.4% on 3.9 million shares. It is joined on the upside by old economy stalwarts such as Alcan, Westcoast Energy, Magin Energy, Canada Southern Petroleum, Storm Energy, Hurricane Hydrocarbons, Richelieu Hardware, Sears Canada and Denbury Resources.

On the downside, Nortel Networks is off just 4¢ on 3 million shares. The firm announced that it has signed one-year supply contracts with China Unicom to supply CDMA equipment, valued at US$275 million.

Nortel is being followed down by a mix of techs, financials and other names. TD Bank is flagging, as are CGI Group, Telus, 360networks, Zi Corp., Microcell, Mosaid and MDC. Other losers include Dorel, Westport, Tesma, GTC Transcon, Quebecor and Power Financial.

In New York, traders are sitting on their hands waiting for word from Mr. Greenspan. Most economists are calling for a 50 basis point cut, although some suspect just 25 bps are in the cards. The Dow Jones industrial averages is down 19 points to 10,859. The Nasdaq composite index is up nine ticks to 2,091. The S&P 500 is unchanged at 1,249.

The CDNX is holding up, gaining six ticks to 3,173 this morning. Volume is light at 16.3 million shares. Oils are up but miners and techs are down. Inca Pacific Resources Inc. is the hottest name today, up 14% to 40¢ on 1.15 million shares.