Stocks continue to move in a fairly narrow range while traders wait for war. The S&P/TSX index is down 11 points at midday to 6,412.

Volume remains on the light side at 87.4 million shares, with the selling ahead of the buying by a nine to five margin. Market breadth is certainly weaker, with losers outnumbering winners by about five to four.

There is strength in golds and health care issues, but not much else on the upside. The weakness is similarly limited, with industrials, diversifieds and consumer plays all looking lower.

Bombardier’s troubles continue to pound its stock. It is down another 8% on very heavy volume of 13.2 million shares. The latest slide comes on the news that Bombardier Aerospace is cutting 3,000 employees from its facilities in Montreal, Toronto and Belfast over the next 12 months.

Apart from Bombardier, there is also notable selling in aerospace firm CAE.

CoolBrands, yesterday’s big winner, is down today on news that the merger that would have given it several new ice cream brands may now be blocked by regulators.

There is also selling in Inco, Noranda, Hurricane Hydrocarbons, Stelco, Teck, Shaw Communications and Open Text.

The financials are mixed today, with some selling coming in CIBC and Royal Bank, but there is strength in names such as Manulife and Scotiabank.

Nortel is leading the tech group higher, gaining .6% on 7.8 million shares. Biovail is powering the biotechs, after some positive regulatory news out of the U.S. MDS is up too. There are also gains in gold and energy firms such as Agnico Eagle, Meridian Gold, Goldcorp, EnCana, First Calgary Petroleums and Enbridge.

In earnings news, Sico recorded net earnings of $12.0 million in 2002, up from $8 million in fiscal 2001.

Sobeys reported net earnings of $45.8 million for its third quarter; an increase of $9.7 million over the $36.1 million it reported in the third quarter last year. Adjusting for the change in the accounting treatment of good will, earnings per share increased 12% from the third quarter last year.

The S&P/TSX Venture index is down three points today at 1,098. Volume is on the light side still, with 18.7 million shares changing hands. International Coromandel is the top trader in the session so far, flat at 24¢ on 983,000 shares.

In New York, stocks opened the day lower on the latest geopolitical jitters, but clawed their way into positive territory at midday. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 14 points to 7,719. The S&P 500 has gained two ticks to 824, while the Nasdaq is flat at 1,308.