Markets are rallying at midday today, as bargain hunters dominate a very thin session. The S&P/TSX index is up 63 points to 6635. Volume is very weak
at just 55 million shares. Buying is more than double the selling action. Market breadth is more even with winners holding a slim 14:13 edge on losers.

Most sectors are making gains today. Techs are up about 3.3%. There is also strength in telecoms, industrials, diversifieds, financials, energy plays and consumer stocks. Golds are being punished by the rally though, dropping 4.4% as traders sell gold to buy everything else.

Bombardier is recovering a bit today after news that Amtrak has put some of its high-speed cars back on the rails. Its stock is up almost 4% in heavy
trading.

The bounce in techs and telecoms is fairly broad-based, with rallying action in all the usual suspects. Celestica is leading the way with a 4% gain, and there is plenty of buying in Nortel Networks, Research in Motion, ATI, Open Text, Cognos and Ballard Power.

BCE is up almost 2%. And there is some buying in blue chips names such as Alcan, CN Rail, Domtar and O&Y Properties.

All of this rallying is supporting the banks, with gains coming in Royal Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia.

The buying action is hurting gold stocks. There are notable slides in gold stocks such as Kinross, Placer Dome, Goldcorp, Glamis, Newmont and Meridian Gold.

In earnings news, Equatorial Energy reported a second quarter loss of $19.24 million in 2002, down a little from the pervious year.

Also, Biovail says that it has received final approval by the Food and Drug Administration for the 90-milligram dosage strength of its generic
hypertension drug, Adalat CC.

In New York, the market seemed a little unsure on the open, but stocks have since rallied strongly to the upside on hopes for economic recovery. The
Dow Jones industrial index is up 143 points at midday to 8921. The S&P 500 has added 15 points to 944. The Nasdaq composite index is up 22 ticks to 1383.

The only index not enjoying a rally is the S&P/TSX Venture index, which is down six points to 1006. Weakness in golds is dragging the market down.
Volume is very light there too, at just 8.9 million shares traded. Canadian Imperial Ventures is the top trader, flat at 25¢ on 437,000 shares.