Markets are enjoying a little bounce back today. At midday, the TSE 300 is up 46 points to 7.687.

Volume is improved today at 56.6 million shares, with buyers outpacing sellers by about seven to six. The split between winners and losers is dead even.

Tech hardware is leading the way higher, up almost 3%. There are also gains in energy stocks, conglomerates and consumer products.

Most other sectors are showing minor gains, staying out of the way of the buyers. Miners are weak, as are broadcasters, but there’s not much concentrated sector selling.

Nortel Networks is leading the techs higher, up 4.5% in active trading. It is joined by Celestica, Exfo Electro, Zi Corp. and Mosaid Technologies.

There are gains on the old economy front too, with Talisman Energy up almost 3%. CP, Rio Alto, Pan Canadian Petroleum, Hurricane Hydrocarbons and Canfor are all posting notable gains.

Improved profit sentiment seems to be behind many of these moves. A couple of stocks that are higher on explicit profit reports include, Biovail and Manulife Financial, each up about 3% on the heels of good results. Biovail reported before the bell.

Manulife came mid-morning with news that second quarter shareholders’ net income was $305 million, an increase of $58 million or 23% over 2000. Earnings per share rose to 63¢.

The downside is coming from a real mixed bag of names, such as TVA Group, Microcell, UGG, ATS Automated Tooling, and numerous income trusts.

In New York, markets are powering higher, too, primarily on weak economic data and the hope that interest rate cuts will result. The Dow Jones industrial average is up about 153 points to 10,555. The Nasdaq composite is up 30 points to 2,047. The S&P 500 has gained 15 points to 1,219.

The small caps are the only source of weakness today. The CDNX is down two ticks to 3,052.

Volume is stronger at 15.2 million shares, thanks to a couple of new listings. Mines are flat, oils and techs are up a bit. Xceleron is the top trader, flat at 20¢ in its debut, moving 1.5 million shares.