Oracle Corp.’s successful US$10.3-billion bid to take over PeopleSoft Inc. helped send North American markets higher Monday morning. A better-than-expected survey of retail sales also boosted U.S. markets, while a Canadian markets were up despite a major hit to Bombardier Inc. shares.

At midday, the S&P/TSX was up 60.42 points or 0.67% to 9025.69 while the TSX Venture exchange added 3.23 points or 0.19% to 1717.61. The Dow Jones industrials jumped 35.32 points or 0.34% to 10578.54. The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained 7.17 or 0.34% to 2135.24 while the S&P 500 was up 4.65 or 0.39% to 1192.65.

The Canadian dollar continued to slide, losing 0.36 of a cent to US81.25¢.

Oracle announced that PeopleSoft would accept a US$26.50-per-share bid, valuing the rival software company at US$10.3 billion. The agreement ends a long feud between the two that featured courtroom intrigue and pithy public statements — and cheered investors who feared the 18-month battle would distract the companies from their core businesses.

The news boosted technology stocks, sending the TSX tech sub-group up 1.11%, with Nortel Networks gaining 1.57% and ATI Technologies adding 0.71%. Gold stocks, however, lead the way on the TSX, adding 1.63%, with energy stocks also up, 1.03%. Financials were running 0.59% ahead.

Royal Bank added 0.48% to $63.40 after announcing it is refunding about $9.2 million to 152,000 customers who were charged a separate fee for a service that should have been included in their banking package fee.

But the biggest single mover was Bombardier, which tested record lows as the company announced the departure of CEO Paul Tellier. Bombardier shares were down 61¢ or 23.6% to 1.98 on a high volume of more than 59.3 million shares after hitting a record low of $1.90. The departure came as Montreal La Presse reported that Ottawa will announce a $380-million subsidy in January for Bombardier’s new series of aircraft seating 110 to 135 people.

On Wall Street, investors also cheered the Commerce Department’s report on November retail sales, which rose 0.1%, better than the flat sales economists had expected. Taking auto sales out of the equation, retail sales rose 0.5% for the month. Wall Street had expected a 0.3% rise excluding autos.

However, the good mood was somewhat muted by a rise in oil futures, which came off of their five-month lows in morning trading. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $41.25, up 54¢, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In addition to completing the PeopleSoft deal, Oracle posted strong quarterly earnings, beating Wall Street profit forecasts by 3¢ per share. The software maker also issued a better-than-expected outlook for the current quarter. Oracle gained 9.11% to US$14.49, while PeopleSoft surged 10.35% to $26.43.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.3%. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.68%, Germany’s DAX index gained 1.13%, and France’s CAC-40 climbed 1%.