By James Langton

(March 14 – 13:00 ET) – As expected, markets are getting slammed today. The TSE 300 opened down about 200 points. It clawed its way up off that low through the morning, but selling is setting in again at midday. The composite index is currently down 144 points to 7,815.

Volume is weak at 62 million shares, and deeply negative, with sellers holding a four to one edge over buyers. Losers outnumber winners about 13 to five.

Today’s selloff is broad-based, coming on the heels of capitulation to profit fears in Europe and renewed worries about the solvency of the Japanese banking industry. Traders are simply dumping stocks altogether.

Every one of TSE’s 14 sub-indices is down at midday. Today strength is defined by who is losing least, and that’s media stocks, integrated oils and biotechs. Transports, miners, financials, industrials and paper are among the biggest losers.

Nortel Networks is the top trader of the day, although its decline is relatively modest, down about 2% on more than 7 million shares. A few techs are joining the slide, including Research in Motion, Descartes Systems, Tundra Semi, and BCE Emergis.

But the selloff is also hitting the old economy, taking out names such as Boliden, Canadian Tire, Bowater, Abitibi, Gulf Canada, Bombardier and Kinross.

Financials are down sharply, with banks, insurers and fund companies all sliding. Sun Life and Manulife are leading the insurers down, while TD and Bank of Montreal are the weakest banks.

What stocks are up? C-MAC Industries for one. The volatile tech stock is proudly flying in the face of the trend, up 6% on 1 million shares. No news from the company, perhaps simple bargain hunting.

Other gainers include Exfo Electro, Smithfield Canada, QLT, Northstar Energy, Precision Drilling, and Dreco Energy.

The scene is similarly grim in New York, and the reasoning is much the same. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average is off 300 points to 9,990.

The Nasdaq composite is is holding up better, having had most of its selloff already. It is down 41 points to 1,973. The S&P 500 is down 31 points to 1,166.

Cisco, Sun, Intel and Ciena are leading the Nasdaq lower, despite opposition from JDS Uniphase, Dell, Juniper and WorldCom. The NYSE is seeing selling in GE, Citigroup, Nortel and Tyco.

The CDNX hasn’t escaped unscathed today either. It is down 38 points to 3,038. Volume is weak at 14.9 million shares. Techs are weak, as are mines, but junior oils are up. Hilton Petroleum is the top trader of the day, flat at $3.15, on 759,030 shares.