Stocks are trading without disruption Friday, amid a massive power outage throughout Ontario and the U.S. Northeast.

The exchanges are all operating a normal schedule, although the U.S. bond market has decided to cut out at 14:00 ET.

There was some positive economic data released in the U.S. today, but stocks are a bit weak amid the uncertainty surrounding the big blackout and the traditional August doldrums.

At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index is down seven points to 7,387.

Volume is very light at 36.3 million shares. This is less than a third of typical midday volume.
Selling volume is outpacing the buying by about 17:15. Market breadth is fairly even, with losers edging winners 13:12.

There isn’t much action among various sectors, although the blackout trade seems to be in full effect, with traders knocking stocks that could be hurt by the outage, and bidding up possible beneficiaries. Techs are down about 0.7%. Real estate is weaker, too, as are consumer stocks. Energy, health care and materials are all stronger.

Open Text is a big winner today, up 12%, following its earnings report yesterday. Although the firm rescheduled today’s conference call to discuss the results until Monday.

Other winners include energy plays such as Petro Canada, Suncor Energy, Cameco, Nexen and Global Thermoelectric. Ballard Power, which offers alternative energy fuel cells, is also up.

On the downside, Torstar, Corus, and Abitibi are all weaker on volume. Celestica, ATS, Fairfax Financial, Canfor, and CP Rail are all down, too.

In earnings news, Enerplus Resources Fund saw its second quarter net income rise to $55 million. Canadian Apartment Properties REIT earned $7.3 million in 2003. Paramount Resources said that it lost $1.4 million in the second quarter. NQL Drilling Tools lost $42.1 million in the quarter. And, Zi Corp. lost $2.1 million.

In M&A news, Industrial-Alliance Insurance is buying Co-operators Mutual Funds Ltd. for an undisclosed price.

In New York, trading is also light. The Dow Jones industrial average is five points higher at 9,316. The Nasdaq composite inex has added two ticks to 1,702. The S&P 500 has dropped two points to 988.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is also down three points to 1,237. Volume is on the light side, but not terrible, at 14.5 million shares. ECU Silver Mining Inc. is the top trader, up just half a cent to 8¢, with almost 1 million shares changing hands.