By James Langton

(May 17 – 13:00 ET) – It’s a good day to be a bull. At midday, the TSE 300 is up 76 points to 8,222.

Volume is heavy today at 104 million shares, and it is strongly positive with buyers running ahead of sellers by a three to one margin. Market breadth is more benign, with winners holding just a 10 to nine edge over sellers.

The financials are the only group that’s down on the TSE today, and that slide is minor. Everything else is up, led by industrials and conglomerates. Utilities, media stocks and golds are also up notably. Improving profit sentiment seems to be the central motivation.

Unusually, all the top traders on the TSE today are to the upside. Kinross is leading the way from the old economy side, up 12% on 6.5 million shares. Nortel Networks is carrying the ball for the new economy, gaining 1.5% on 5.1 million shares.

The upside crowd is a diverse bunch, including Barrick and Placer Dome, Triumph Energy and Gulf Canada, Finning and Norske Skog. Other strong performers include, Ballard Power, Cognicase, CHC Helicopter, Maverick Tube, Turbo Genset and Global Thermoelectric.

On the downside, financials are weak. Bank of Nova Scotia is bucking the trend, but the rest are sliding, perhaps it was TD Bank’s flat results, perhaps this morning’s inflation data which has clouded the outlook for further cuts to interest rates. Fund companies are also sliding, including C.I. Fund Management and AGF, down 6% and 3.3% respectively.

Other losers include Baytex Energy, Premium Brands, Biomira, Spar Aerospace, and Linamar.

In business news, Power Corp. is reporting net earnings for the three months ended March 31, were $163 million or 72¢ a share, compared with 59¢ a share for the same period in 2000.

United Dominion Industries shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the company’s amalgamation with SPX Corp. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice will consider United Dominion’s application for a final order approving the plan of arrangement on May 18. The transaction is expected to close on May 24.

Penn West Petroleum Ltd. reports that its net income for the past quarter increased by 223% to $104.2 million from $32.3-million in 2000.

Cell-Loc says it lost $4.1 million in its latest quarter, up from a loss of $7.9 million in the second quarter. These amounts exclude restructuring costs of $14.4 million in the third quarter and $3.5 million in the second quarter.

In New York, stocks are generally up today, too. The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 73 points to 11,289. The Nasdaq composite index is up 30 points to 2,197. The S&P 500 has gained six ticks to 1,291.

Strong earnings from Ciena and a few other firms is driving the action among the techs. Retailers and Citigroup are boosting the rest of the market.

The CDNX is up 14 points to 3,225. Volume is strong at 23.1 million shares. Miners are leading the way higher, with minimal intrusion from oils and techs. Northland Systems is the top trader, down 13% to 65¢ on 2.1 million shares.