Financial and tech stocks and some good news about the economy propelled markets in Toronto, while U.S. markets held on for another day in positive territory thanks to a slew of positive profit reports.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index moved up 86.87 points or 1.04% to 8443.19. The TSX Venture Exchange was up 8.63 points or 0.58% to 1484.93

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished ahead by 12.17 points or 0.12% to 10129.9 while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 22.8 points or 1.23% to 1881.06 and the S&P 500 climbed 5.06 points or 0.46% to 1100.48.

The Canadian dollar jumped 0.22of a cent to US75.44¢ after Statistics Canada said the economy grew by a solid 0.3% in May following a slight advance of 0.1% in April.
May’s figure was below analysts’ estimates, but it still suggests the economy is on track for annual growth of 4% to 4.5%.

In Toronto, tech stocks led the way up, jumping 2.28% on the day, propelled by Nortel Networks Corp., which gained 30¢ or 6.5% to $4.94. Its stock continues to recover from a 15% thrashing Tuesday after saying it has missed profit margin and cost cutting targets.

Financial companies were up 1.09% as a group, helped by Sun Life Financial rose 92¢ to $36.89 after reporting a nearly 20 per cent jump in quarterly profit; Manulife added $1.06 to $53.11. Among the banks, CIBC was up 54¢ to $63.35.

Energy stocks gained 0.74% despite some declines in second quarter earnings in the Canadian oil patch. Petro-Canada and Talisman Energy both reported profit drops. But Petrocan stock managed a 1.17% increase, while Talisman shares fell 1.41%.

One of the biggest TSX drops was the stock of CoolBrands International. Its shares tumbled $4.91 to $11.99 – almost 29% on top of Wednesday’s 6% loss – after it failed to extend a licensing agreement with Weight Watchers International. More than 6.1 million shares trades hands Thursday.

On Wall Street, investors were spooked by a report about blue chip General Motors Corp. Analysts with Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers downgraded their rating on the stock, amid worries about inventory buildup and a pending accounting rule change that could dent earnings.

Investors have grown increasingly nervous about slowing growth in the second half of the year, and worries about terror ahead of the U.S. presidential election and the Olympics have added an element of fear to the market. A surge in crude prices, largely propelled by a dispute between Russian oil giant Yukos and Moscow, has added to that uneasiness. The price of crude was off its lows of the day but still 18 cents lower to US$42.72 a barrel after Russia’s Justice Ministry lifted a freeze on the property of three subsidiaries of the Yukos oil giant.

Investors are also anticipating Friday’s second quarter reading on U.S. gross domestic product. Economists expect the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.7%.