Toronto stocks are mixed at midday as crude prices bounced off their lows and financial issues weathered another interest rate increase. At midday the S&P/TSX composite index was up 14.06 points at 8,802.96 on a volume of 146 million shares.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the November crude contract stood at US$53 a barrel, down US67¢

The Bank of Canada traised its key interest rate 25 basis points to 2.50% from 2.25% — meeting analysts expectations. The major bank’s quickly moved to boost their rates accordingly.

Six of the 10 TSX sectors were higher at midday, with the biggest gains in telecommunications, up 1.02%, and technology, up 0.61%.

Technology stocks received a boost from a positive earnings report from U.S. bellwether International Business Machines late on Monday.

In Toronto, Celestica rose 25¢, or 1.59%, to $25.99, and Tundra Semiconductor added 42¢, or 2.84%, to $15.19.

The heavily weighted financial group was off 0.01%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 1.48 points to 1,656.63.

U.S. stocks retreated from early gains to trade mixed at midday as crude prices bounced off their lows, tempering the positive impact of a solid round of quarterly results led by IBM and Texas Instruments.

A decision by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to widen his investigation into the insurance industry to health insurers further rattled investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average was last up 21.50 points at 9,977.92.

Within the Dow, IBM rose 3.7% as analysts gave a positive review of its third quarter performance.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 6.85 points to 1,943.37, while the broader S&P 500 slipped 1.66 points, to 1,112.36.

Early gains for stocks faded as oil trimmed losses and shares of health insurance groups tumbled after Eliot Spitzer trained his eye on the companies’ business practices.

In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said the consumer-price index rose 0.2% last month, the highest rate since June. The core index — which excludes volatile food and energy items — rose 0.3%, the fastest pace since April.

In year-on-year terms, however, the CPI was up 2.5%, down from an increase of 2.8% in August.

The increase in the core index was larger than the 0.2% gain that analysts had been expecting, although the overall increase matched expectations.