Advances in energy and technology shares helped Toronto markets continue their run Thursday morning, while U.S. markets got a jolt from Starbucks to keep them in the black.

At midday, the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index was up 44.32 or 0.47% to 9517.61, and was headed for its fourth gain in five days. The TSX Venture exchange was up 1.32 or 0.08% to 1684.59.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials were just 0.72 of a point or 0.01% to 10385.36. The Nasdaq composite added 3.22 or 0.16% to 1965.45 and the S&P 500 index was up by 1.80 or 0.15% at 1177.45.

The Canadian dollar was up slightly, adding 0.01 of a cent to US80.27¢.

In Toronto, the TSX energy group was 1.65% as crude oil rose for a second day, advancing 48¢ to US$50.61 in electronic trading in New York on concern supplies may run short at the end of the year, as increasing demand strains the ability of producers to keep pace.

Tech shares were the next biggest gainer on the TSx, increasing 1.63%. They were led by
Research In Motion Ltd., which was up $3.28 or 5.05% to $68.22. Competitive solutions still lag behind the maker of the BlackBerry e-mail pager and competition concerns are largely overdone, said one analyst.

On Wall, Street, U.S. stocks edged higher amid mixed economic news, with retailers including Starbucks helping the main indexes.

Starbucks Corp. rose 3.5% to US$52.27 a day after it said same-store sales rose 9% in April, exceeding several Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

Target Corp., the No. 2 U.S. discount retailer, was up 3% at US$47.70 after it said sales at its stores open at least a year rose 1.3%, below its forecast.

In Thursday’s economic news, U.S. business productivity growth accelerated unexpectedly in the first quarter but labor costs picked up, according to a government report that suggested a slight increase in profit and price pressures.