Technology stocks look set to lead the markets into gains today. The Semiconductor Industry Association is reporting that chip sales are holding up better. Chip-maker Intel Corp. is leading the way higher. There are gains in Micron Technology Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc., too.

There’s good economic news in Canada. Our GDP jumped 1.5% in the first quarter, boosted by a hot housing market, a slowdown of inventory depletion, and a rebound of exports and manufacturing. In March, GDP rose 0.1%, as the economic turnaround that began last October continued for the sixth consecutive month. Finally, Canada’s current account surplus with the rest of the world strengthened by $1.5 billion to reach $5.9 billion in the first quarter. Nearly all of the increase resulted from an upswing in the quarterly surplus on goods.

In Europe, stocks are up based on an analyst call from Goldman Sachs & Co., suggesting that stocks such as SAP AG and ARM Holdings plc are bargains. The expectation of higher oil prices is also boosting issues in that sector. The London FTSE has gained 27 points to 5068. The Paris CAC 40 is up 22 points to 4282. The German DAX is 46 points to the good at 4808.

Overnight in Asia, stocks finished the week on the downside. The Yen had a rough ride. And Japan’s credit rating was cut two notches by Moody’s Investors Service. Still, the Nikkei only lost six points to 11764. The Hang Seng shed 79 points to 11302.

In M&A news, AT&T Corp. is thinking of buying the 69% of AT&T Canada Inc. that it doesn’t already own, after raising about US$2.25 billion from a new stock issue.

In earnings news, Linmor Inc. reported that its net loss for the fourth quarter was $1,832,396 compared to $1,613,900 in the third quarter. Net loss for the year was $10,138,781 while in fiscal 2001, it was $9,645,111.

Finally, QLT Inc. and Novartis AG announced that the European Medicines Evaluation Agency has adopted a positive opinion on their Visudyne therapy. The opinion will now be considered by the European Commission, which should make a final decision within three months regarding marketing authorization in the European Union.