By Gavin Adamson
(March 3- 17:00 ET) – The TSE was the only market bucking a major upswing, after U.S. economic data, released this morning, eased investors’ worries about higher interest rates. The U.S. employment and wage report showed expected job growth and upward wage pressure, but nothing alarming, as was feared.
The Dow was lead to 214.07 gain, to 10,378.99, by a broad range of sectors. The financial and retail sectors recovered, having sagged some during the past couple of weeks of interest-rate worry. Citigroup, for example, added US$1 7/8 to $53 3/8. GE added $3 55/64 to $139 1/16. Other Dow components like Walt Disney, DuPont and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing fared well too.
That’s not to say the techs had an off day. The semi-conductors actually lead the way today across all markets, with Texas Instruments and Rambus among the big gainers. Cisco, Oracle and IBM rose today as well. Nasdaq closed up by 144.03 to 4,898.54, having topped 4900 at one point.
Issues on the CDNX were apparently swept up in the jubilation, as that exchange swelled by another 134.62 to 4,161.23. Prime Spot Media added 33% to C20 cents, Kelso Technologies add 100% to 30 cents, and TM Biosciences racked up a 30% gain to C$3.10.
The TSE, however, slipped by 23.55 to 9,492.51. BCE and Nortel gained some, but QLT Phototherapeutics dropped C$8.80 to $94. The Royal Bank lost 75 cents to $61, and The Bank of Montreal slipped by 45 cents as well. Oils were mixed, even while the price of crude remains high. Imperial Oil added 40 cents to $27.95, while Anderson Exploration lost 50 cents to $18.25.