Technology and resource issues pushed Toronto stocks higher Wednesday. At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 15.42 points, or 0.2%, at 9,431.12.

Volume was 101 million shares.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups were higher, led by a 1.7% hike in the technology group and a 0.5% climb in the resource-heavy materials group. Mining stocks, a member of the materials group, were up 1%.

Technology stocks climbed on the back of strong results from chipmaker Intel which reported a 25 rise in quarterly profit after the markets closed on Tuesday.

Canadian chipmakers rose in response to the rosy outlook including Tundra Semiconductor , which added 41¢, or 3.5%, to $12.14 and ATI Technologies which gained 24¢, or 1.2%, to $20.10.

Materials stocks were helped by a strong performance from Inco which added $1.31, or 2.8%, to $47.70.

Inco shares jumped after the nickel producer resumed paying dividends after six years and posted strong results on Tuesday that prompted at least three analysts to upgrade the stock.

A 0.9 dip in consumer issues and 0.6 retreat among healthcare stocks tempered the gains.

In New York, stocks were mixed as companies reported solid earnings and the U.S. government reported a stronger-than-expected surge in consumer prices.

Consumer prices jumped 0.6 in March, according to the Labor Department, the biggest surge in five months as the costs rose sharply for everything from energy and food to clothing, hotel rooms, airline tickets and medical care.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 12.93, or 0.13%, at 10,140.34.

The broader gauges were narrowly mixed. The S&P 500 was down 2.05, or 0.18%, at 1,150.73. The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.05, or 0.31%, to 1,938.41.