Bargain hunters have helped break two-week jinx to push Toronto stocks higher on Monday. At midday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index is up 95.91 points to 7,344.93.

The broad-based rally is being led by the information technology group, up 2.3%. Energy issues are up 2%, while the healthcare stocks have risen nearly 3%. Volume at midday is about 67 million shares

Biovail Corp. is up $2.69 to $50.20. after winning approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Cardizem XL medication, used to treat hypertension.

Gold stocks have slipped 3% as the price of gold continues to weaken.

Barrick Gold Corp. is down 43¢ to $30.43 a share and Agnico-Eagle Mines is off 69¢ at $22.31 a share.

Nortel Network is the session most actively traded issue so far. It’s up 9¢ to $2.65 with just over six million shares changing hands.

The financial sector is up about 1%. Scotiabank has added 65¢to $51.80, while Bank of Montreal is ahead 40¢ at $36.20.

In New York, stocks are picking up where they left off last week, as investors cheered an upside pre-announcement from the McDonald’s.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 171 points to 9,645. The Nasdaq has added 44 points to 1548, and the S&P 500 is up 23 points to 1030.

McDonald’s raised its second-quarter forecast Monday morning, citing stronger currencies overseas. The company’s shares were trading up 2.5% to US$29.86 on the news.

The S&P TSE Venture Composite Index is down 7.46 points at 1,187.07, on a volume of 15 million shares. The most actively traded issue is American Bonanza Gold Mining Corp., which is down 1¢ at 19¢.