Stocks in Toronto surged ahead again today. Positive earnings results from American companies has lifted overall investor morale. The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index closed up 240.78 points, or 4.03%, at 6,219.44.

All of the TSX’s 10 subgroups finished the day in positive territory, led by a hefty 5% rise in the banking sector and an 8.4% jump in the IT sector. A better-than-expected earnings report from the American bank, Citigroup, boosted financial stocks. Royal Bank of Canada closed up $2.74, or 5%, to $55.89. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ended up $2.75, or 7.5%, to $39.35.

South of the border, stocks also continued to rebound. The news from Citigroup as well as a positive earnings report from General Motors Corp. pushed markets into their first four-session positive streak since the end of the summer.

In the U.S., about 150 of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index companies are set to post their quarterly results. The shift in stock market directions reflects investor optimism, or at least hopes, that good news is on its way.

The Dow Jones industrial average leapt 378.28 points, or 4.8%, to 8,255.68. This was the Dow’s seventh-largest point gain ever. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index also jumped. Moving up 39.83 points, or 4.73%, to 881.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 61.91 points, or 5.07%, to 1,282.44.

The only North American market that bucked today’s trend was the S&P CDNX which fell slightly, down 3.58 to 902.68.