A broad-based rally has lifted the TSE 300 up 85 points to 7,731 at midday.

Volume remains in short supply at just 60.4 million shares, with buying overwhelming selling by three to one. Winners outnumber losers five to four.

Just about every sector is making some sort of gain. Only department stores are noticeably weaker.

Techs are leading the way higher, up about 6.5% on hope that they will spark a recovery. Analyst upgrades, specifically a buy on Intel from JP Morgan and an upgrade on EMC Corp. by Salomon Smith Barney, are helping drive positive markets reaction.

Banks are rallying, up 1%, and mines and golds are strong. Oils are not spoiling the party, they are flat today.

Nortel Networks is leading the way higher, following a global rush into techs. It is up 6% on relatively strong volume. Celestica is rallying hard, too, up 7.5%, ATI has gained 12% with chips expected to benefit earliest. Mosaid Technoloies, Com Dev, Zarlink, and Research in Motion are up notably, too.

Other gainers include golds, on news that Newmont’s richer bid for Normandy Mining is likely to succeed. That has fellow takeover target Franco Nevada higher, along with Placer Dome.

Blue chips such as Alcan and Bombardier are up. Assante has also made a strong 5% gain on active volume.

With the banks rebounding too, Kingsway Financial is suffering today. Sears Canada is leading the department stores down. Other losers include Labopharm, Decoma, Talisman Energy, Hurricane Hydrocarbons, Biovail and Telus.

In business news, Murphy Oil says it expects earnings before special items for the fourth quarter of 2001 to be between 55¢ and 65¢ per share, including a $2.8-million gain from the sale of a petroleum products terminal in the UK.

In New York the scene is playing out in a similar fashion. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 56 points to 10,130. But it is Nasdaq that is enjoying the tech rally most acutely, gaining 44 points back above 2000 to 2,023. The S&P 500 has added four points to 1,159.

The S&P/CDNX Composite Index is also higher today, gaining 10 points to 1,053. Volume is a bit better today at 14 million shares. Look Communications is the top trader again, albeit flat at 20¢ on 2.4 million shares.