Heading into the summer’s first official long weekend, traders are in a buying mood. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index is up 58 points at midday to 7658. Volume is average, but strong for a summertime Friday, at 76.2 million shares. The buying volume has an 8:5 edge on the selling, and winners hold a 5:4 margin over losers.

Almost every sector is flat or up today. Pipelines is the only real down group, as it continues to face lower prices. Oil and gas stocks are up, though. The strongest group is the industrials, which are being driven higher by tech stocks. Gold and paper plays are up, too, but most of the market moves are modest.

Nortel Networks is the top trader today, gaining 3.3% on 6.1 million shares. It is powering the tech sector higher, with support from Celestica, Mitel, Research in Motion and Sierra Wireless. Simple bargain hunting seems to be the primary motive.

There are also gains in a broad selection of names that have caught traders fancy for one reason or another. The eclectic winners include Magna International, CP, Alberta Energy, Barrick Gold, Vivendi, Spar Aerospace, Toromont, Hurricane Hydrcarbons and Kingsway Financial. TD Bank is leading the banks higher, as it recovers from recent beatings.

The downside is represented by a similarly diverse group of stocks including Harris Steel and St. Lawerence Cement, Tundra Semiconductor, Telesystem International Wireless, AnorMed, SNC Lavalin, CanWest Global and CCL Industries.

In earnings news, Geac Computer reports that it produced a net loss of $29.5 million, or 48¢ per share, in the fourth quarter compared with a net loss of 16¢ last year. For the 2001 fiscal year the net loss was $255.8 million, or $4.12 per share, compared with net income of 79¢ in fiscal 2000.

The CDNX is quiet and soft today. The small cap index is down 10 points at midday, to 3180. Volume is very quiet at 10.7 million shares. Techs and oils are down, but miners are holding up. Genoil Inc is the most actively traded share again. ItÕs down another 7% to 25¢ on 555,850 shares.

Tech stocks are making gains in New York today, too. The old economy names seem content to chug toward the weekend. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial index is up 25 points to 10591. The NASDAQ composite index has gained 32 points to 2158. The S&P added seven points to 1233. Bargain hunters seem to be driving the markets higher, boosted by the revised Michigan Sentiment number, which showed consumer confidence revised to 92.6 for all of June from 91.6 in early June. With consumers undeterred, investors are hoping the economy is going to recover soon.