By James Langton

(March 8 – 13:00 ET) – After a quick 30-point drop at the open, the TSE 300 rebounded by mid-morning. The composite index is currently up just five ticks to 8,307.

Volume is strong at 93.2 million shares, and skewed to buyers about five to three, but much of this is the result of trading in penny stocks. Drop that out and volume is much closer to even with a slight positive bias. Market breadth is showing a slight edge to winners, too.

The sector split is about even. Media stocks and pipelines are leading the way down. The upside is coming from gold and transportation equipment primarily. Most of the other sector moves are minor.

Downside momentum is taking its lead from some of the high priced tech stocks. Names such as Alcatel, Research in Motion, Celestica and Exfo Electro are down this morning, and biotechs are also weak. A couple of old economy names, Gulf Canada and Weston, are down in active trading, too.

Astral Media is off notably on news of a new offering, and the company’s plans to buy Corus Entertainment’s 50% interest in The Family Channel for $126.9 million in cash.

The big trade of the day is penny stock play William Multi-Tech. The stock is up 2¢ on 13.4 million shares, on news that the firm is being de-listed from the TSE and banished to the CDNX. The TSE will miss the volume, the stock is frequently a heavy trader.

Buying support is coming in the old economy with help from some of the techs, too. Winners include such names as Bombardier, Barrick, Kinross, Talisman Energy, Potash Corp., Pioneer Natural Resources, Burlington and Veritas.

There is some cautious buying in Nortel Networks, after CEO John Roth released an open letter to shareholders pledging the company’s good faith in disclosure, and determination to deliver strong results in the future. Other techs attracting buyers today include Sierra Wireless and JDS Uniphase.

In business news, Geac Computer Corp. announced that discussions with its banking syndicate relating to its credit facility are being extended to April 4. Following an additional payment of US$3 million, US$37 million remains outstanding under the facility.

In New York stocks are mixed and trading mostly sideways. The Dow Jones industrial average is up about 45 points to 10,775. The Nasdaq composite is off 34 points to 2,190. The S&P 500 is up two ticks to 1,264.

Yahoo’s warning continues to weigh on the techs, as does a Merrill Lynch report citing tech inventory buildups. Cisco Systems, Yahoo, Oracle and Sun are weighing on the Nasdaq, despite the best efforts of JDS and Intel. AOL, Pfizer and Nortel are propping up the NYSE, despite weakness in GE, EMC and Nokia.

The CDNX is up today, gaining 13 points to 3,114. Volume is average at 16.5 million shares. Energy stocks are providing strength, with mines trading flat and techs slightly down. Plasma Environmental is the top trader again today, down 20% to 7¢ on 1.1 million shares.