Stocks are making some gains in light volume Wednesday, ahead of this afternoon’s decision on interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The S&P/TSX composite index is 39 points higher at midday to 8,627

No one expects a rate move by the Fed, but the tone of the policy statement will be closely watched. There was no economic news out in Canada today, just lots of earnings news. In the U.S., orders for durable goods in December were notably weaker than expected.

Toronto volume remains on the light side at 142 million shares, with buying ahead of selling by a 17:9 margin. Winners also outnumber losers 12:11.

On a sector basis, it’s the golds leading the way yet again today, up another 3%. Telecoms are also very strong., gaining 2.7%. Techs and materials are also higher.

Health care stocks are notably weak, and there’s bit of selling in industrials and energy stocks.

Manitoba Telecom is leading the way higher, as traders speculate that it may convert to an income trust. It is up 4.7% in heavy trading as a result.

BCE is a little higher, as is Telesystem International Wireless, SR Telecom, Envoy Communications and NHC Communications.

More compellingly, Nortel is leading the tech group higher. It is up 3% in solid volume. However, Open Text and Hip Interactive are both weaker.

Placer Dome is powering the golds with a 2.5% gain, joined by bigger jumps in smaller names such as NovaGold Resources.

Financial stocks remain mixed ahead of the Fed announcement. CIBC is higher despite reports that it may be caught up in the U.S. mutual fund trading scandal. Scotia and Royal Bank are higher, too. Manulife is leading the way in the group, up 1.5%. However, Bank of Montreal and TD Bank are both lower at midday.

On the downside, CP Rail has dropped almost 2%, following news that rival CN’s board of directors has approved a 3:2 stock split and 17% increase in the quarterly cash dividend. It also reported that fourth quarter 2003 net income was $224 million, compared with net income for the final quarter of 2002 of $22 million. Net income for 2003 was $1 billion, compared with net income of $800 million for 2002. .

Energy plays are notably weak, with EnCana down about 0.8%. Cameco has lost 4.8%, and Ivanhoe Energy is weak too. However, Suncor is up a little, as is Savanna Energy Services.

Other losers include Alcan, Legacy Hotels and Domtar. Domtar has posted an operating loss of $92 million and a net loss of $190 million for 2003, compared with an operating profit of $135 million and net earnings of $5 million last year.

Abitibi-Consolidated said that it experienced a fourth quarter loss of $80 million, compared with net earnings of $29 million in the same quarter of 2002. For all of 2003, net earnings were $179 million, compared with 2002 net earnings of $259 million. The operating loss from continuing operations amounted to $322 million for the year, compared with an operating profit from continuing operations of $182 million in 2002.

DBRS is downgrading the senior unsecured debentures of Tembec to BB (low) from BB, with the trend is being changed to stable from negative. This rating action reflects Tembec’s continuing high financial leverage and a deterioration in its earnings and cash-flow generation capability.

Elsewhere, Biovail is leading the health care group lower. TLC and Ecopia Biosciences are both down too. However, Hemosol has jumped 17% in active trading.

Nova Chemicals Corp. has recorded a net loss to common shareholders of $15 million for the fourth quarter of 2003. The net loss to common shareholders was $65 million in the third quarter of 2003 and $48 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. For the full year 2003, the net loss to common shareholders was $1 million, compared with a loss of $112 million for 2002.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts had earnings of US$50.7 million. Westport Innovations posted a third quarter net loss of $13 million. Nexia Biotechnologies had a first quarter loss to $1.9 million

Molson announced a 3% share buyback, while also reporting that quarterly profits are down 34%, due to low sales for its Brazilian unit.

In New York, stocks aren’t moving much ahead of the rate decision. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 22 points to 10,632. The Nasdaq composite index has added three ticks to 2,119.