Stocks are rallying Thursday on some strong U.S. economic data and robust earnings reports. The S&P/TSX composite index is up 63 points at midday to 6,571.

Volume is moderate at 89.3 million shares, with the buying action more than doubling the selling. Market breadth is also constructive, with winners outnumbering losers by about 17:13.

Almost every sector is registering a gain of some size today. Gold stocks are the only exception, as investors sell a little of the safety play to buy the broader market.

Health care, industrials, diversifieds and utilities are all boasting notable gains.

Techs are convincingly stronger, up more than 2%. However, the heavily weighted financial group is the real power behind the market, gaining 1.7%.

The financials are led by a 5.3% gain in CIBC on heavy volume of 2.4 million shares. Investors are rewarding CIBC’s strong first quarter results with eager buying. The bank reported earnings for the first quarter of $445 million, compared with a loss of $100 million for the previous quarter, and earnings of $333 million for the same period a year ago.

National Bank declared net income of $166 million for the first quarter, an increase of 14% compared with the corresponding period of 2002. Return on common shareholders’ equity was 17.6% for the first quarter of 2003 compared with 15.0% for the year earlier period.

TD Bank is up 2.1% on news that its net income was $347 million for the quarter, compared with a loss of $196 million for the fourth quarter, and net income of $378 million from the same quarter last year.

Laurentian Bank reported lower first quarter profit of $19.9 million too.

The strong earnings picture and ongoing merger chatter is boosting other financials, too. Royal Bank has gained 1.6%, as has Scotiabank. Canada Life is also stronger.

Nortel is leading the tech group higher with a 7% gain on decent volume. Celestica is up 2%, but Open Text is weaker.

Other gainers include Compton Petroleum, Peyto Explorations, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Potash and Real Resources.

On the downside, Loblaws is lower today, as is EnCana, Precision Drilling, Ivanhoe and Cossette.

Golds are the real source of weakness on the TSX Thursday. Kinross is down 3%, while Barrick, Glamis and Bema Gold are all lower.

In other earnings news, Four Seasons Hotels reported that net earnings for the quarter were $7.6 million, as compared with $9.3 million for the quarter in 2001. For the year, net earnings were $21.2 million, as compared with $86.5 million in 2001.

In 2002, Mega Bloks generated a net profit record of US$20.2 million, compared with US$6.0 million in the previous year. Net profit for the last quarter was US$13.7 million, compared with US$6.7 million in 2001.

Rona reported net earnings of $43.1 million for the year, a 75% increase. The surge in net earnings for the year is partly attributable to the company’s organic growth, and partly to the impact of the Revy and Lansing acquisition. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2002 were $9.1 million, a 94.4% increase over the previous year.

The small cas are unmoved by all the big board buying. The S&P/TSX Venture index is unchanged at midday, sitting at 1,104. Volume is on the light side at 18.7 million shares. Cenosis is the day’s top trader, down a penny to 1¢ on just over 1 million shares.

In New York, stocks are higher on news of a stronger-than-expected durable goods report, and news that the U.S. is reducing the terror alert threat level.

The Dow Jones industrial avearage is enjoying a 104 point gain to 7,911. The S&P 500 is up 13 ticks to 840, while the Nasdaq composite index has packed on 21 points to sit at 1,325.