With no economic news out on either side of the border, and no new terrorist attacks, traders are focusing on the day’s mix of corporate news. The S&P/TSX composite index is up just six ticks at midday to 7,815.

Volume is on the light side though at 127.8 million shares, with the action about evenly split between buying and selling. Market breadth gives the bulls a slight edge, with winners outnumbering losers by a margin of 21:20.

Financials are notably stronger on speculation that interest rates in Canada could be cut further to combat the rising Canadian dollar.


Notably, Manulife is up 2.3% in active trading. There is also strength in CIBC, up 1.7%. Smaller gains are coming in Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank too.

Talk of interest rate cuts to combat the strong loonie is also boosting firms such as Alcan and Inco.

There are also compelling gains in golds and energy stocks.

The gold sector is up on news that heavyweight Barrick is abandoning gold hedging. Traders are applauding the move, pushing the stock up 1% in heavy trading on the hope that this will lead to higher earnings for the firm, and indeed better prices for gold.

The news is spilling over to other companies in the sector, but it is having different effects on different names. There are strong gains in Yamana Gold, Great Basin Gold and Wheaton River Minerals.

However, Placer Dome is down, as is Aur Resources, Inmet Mining, Ivanhoe Mining, Northern Orion Exploration, Desert Sun Mining, and Bolivar Gold.

Bolivar also had news of its own to contend with. It reported that it has entered into an agreement with Griffiths McBurney & Partners to sell $20 million in convertible debt on a bought-deal and private placement basis.

Energy stocks are higher, led by a 1% gain for EnCana. Strong trading is boosting Suncor Energy, TransCanada, and First Calgary Petroleums, too. There is some weakness in Canadian Natural Resources and Ivanhoe Energy.

Health care stocks are getting thumped, however, plunging 5.4% on news afflicting Biovail. Industrials and miners are notably weak, too.

Biovail has plummeted 21% on news that the SEC is investigating the firm’s accounting practices and financial reporting. This is steam-rolling the sector, although the pain is limited to Biovail alone. Indeed, Diagnocure is up strongly on the day.

The tech space is split today, with Nortel down a bit in relatively modest trading. Ballard Power is down, too. But there is strength in Hip Interactive and Bakbone Software.

In other news, Methanex Corp. said that it will write down the carrying value of its methanol production assets in New Zealand and Alberta, taking a charge of approximately US$130 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Stelco reported that it has arranged an increased and extended credit facility for operating purposes. The renewed facility permits drawings of up to $350 million, an increase of $55 million over existing credit lines. This facility has also been extended to November 2005, from the previous expiry date of September 2004.

In earnings news, Rona reported third quarter earnings of $24.1 million. Cequel Energy Inc. said that its earnings jumped to $7.75 million in its third quarter.

The Connors Bros Income Fund saw its quarterly income drop to $5.1 million.

In New York, the indexes are also hardly moved in a quiet session. The Dow Jones industrial average is down four points at midday to 9,615. The Nasdaq composite index has gained eight ticks to 1,890. The S&P 500 is unchanged at 1,034.

The S&P/TSX Venture index has dropped two ticks today to 1,613. Volume has dipped there too, sliding to 38.5 million shares, led by Pan Asia Mining. It has moved about 1 million shares, in gaining a penny to 18.5¢.