Toronto stocks posted big gains Wednesday, as bargain hunting investors returned to the market, lured by positive earnings news. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 96.14 points at 6,165.03.

Information technology stocks led by a solid 4.7% rise, while the industrial sector climbed 3%.

Nortel Networks rose 3¢ at $1.03. Celestica gained 88¢ to $21.90 and Zarlink Semiconductor gained 25¢ to $3.40.

Transport giant Bombardier soared 77¢ to $4.97. Other winners included WestJet, up $1.20 to $17.26, and Ballard Power, up 84¢ to $16.64.

Financials stocks also lifted the market, with Royal Bank climbing $1.25 to $51.20 and Scotiabank up 98¢ to $44.04.

Gold-mining issues refused to join the rally, falling 4% as the spot bullion price dropped. Glamis Gold fell $1.59 to $14.37. Placer Dome Inc. fell 80¢ to $15.30, while Barrick Gold Corp. slipped 63¢ to $28.07.

Other active stocks included Rogers Communications, which fell 83¢ to $10.10. Shaw Communications dropped 46¢ to $12.68. The big drops came after Moody’s Investors Service placed the debts of the two cable TV companies under review for possible downgrade.

Toronto volume was 188.9 million shares worth $2.26 billion as advancers beat decliners 579 to 461, with 209 unchanged.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange slipped 7.99 points to 961.33.

In New York, the Dow industrial average surged 158.69 points to 7,841.82. The Nasdaq was the biggest percentage gainer, adding 40.12 points, or 3.38%, to 1,222.29. The S&P 500 index advanced 20.37 points to 839.66.

The strongest lift for markets came after General Electric provided some rare positive corporate news before the market opened, saying it will affirm its third-quarter earnings estimate.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.3¢ to US63.3¢, helped in parted by a report from Statistics Canada that the composite index, an indicator of how the economy will perform, rose 0.3¢ in August.