By Stewart Lewis

(May 25 – 10:00 ET) – The U.S. Commerce Department reported that preliminary first-quarter GDP rose by 5.4%. Analysts expected the data to show a 5.2% rise. Even 5.4% is lower than GDP growth reported last quarter.

Early trading was positive. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.70 points to 1,406.40 while the NASDAQ 100 index futures added 47.50 points, to 3,214.25.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is speaking on banking before a National Association of Urban Bankers conference in San Francisco. Rate watchers will be listening for clues about future hikes.

Here at home, Statistics Canada reported on recent investment patterns. “Foreign investors added an unprecedented $14.6 billion to their holdings of Canadian equities in March, double the previous high recorded in August 1998,” says StatsCan. “While foreigners bought outstanding shares in record amounts, the lion’s share of their investment was in new shares, both those floated in foreign markets and those exchanged as part of direct investment acquisitions.”

The TSE 300 composite index is up after the first hour, 86 points to 9230.80.

In Europe, strong gains are showing for technology and telecommunications stocks, following yesterday’s gains on the NASDAQ. At midday, there, London’s FTSE is up 1.2% at 6192.10. France’s CAC sits at 6148.73. The DAX in Germany has risen 1.8% to 6957.31.

Japanese stocks stopped their six-day slide. Internet and tech stocks were bought up following the Nasdaq’s rally. The Nikkei rose 203.38 points, closing at 16,247.82. The Hang Seng was the only overseas markets to finish on a down note. It closed 0.1% lower at 13921.