Toronto stocks pushed past the 9,000 point level for the first time in almost four years today in a broad-based rally led by gold and technology issues.

At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 52.30 points, or 0.58%, at 9,004.30, breaking through 9,000 points for the first time since February 2001.

Volume was 160 million shares.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups were in positive territory, with techs up 1.94%.

Research In Motion climbed 4.27%, at $102.18. The company said earlier on Wednesday the number of subscribers to their Blackberry handheld devices passed the two million mark.

Tech bellwether Nortel Networks was up 0.27% at $3.78.

Gold issues rose 2.27%, as bullion broke the $440 resistance level on a weaker U.S. dollar.

Meridian Gold led gains, rising 2.23%, to $23.66, while Barrick Gold rose 2.33% to $28.60.

Industrials climbed 0.81% as retreating oil prices helped lift some transportation company shares.

Canadian Pacific Railway was up 3.55%, at $37.01, while Finning jumped 4.23% to $31.80.

Health care stocks slipped 0.65% as Biovail stock hit a 52-week low. The firm announced that a rival drug maker is seeking U.S. approval for a generic version of Wellbutrin XL, an antidepressant that is Biovail’s leading product. Biovail shares fell 5.6% to $19.45.

Among individual stocks, shares in pipeline operator Enbridge jumped 1.8% to $53.76 after the firm said is going south with a US$613 million purchase of Shell’s natural gas network in the Gulf of Mexico south of Louisiana and Mississippi

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index was up 13.20 points, or 0.80%, to 1,673.28, on volume of 35 million shares.

On Wall Street, stocks jumped on Wednesday on news of a merger between retailers Kmart and Sears, better-than-expected earnings from computer maker Hewlett-Packard and government data showing a moderate rise in a key U.S. inflation measure.

HP rose 5% to US$20.69 a day after the computer maker posted a 27% jump in quarterly profit.

On the economic front, the 0.2% rise last month in the consumer price index, excluding volatile food and energy, helped to ease investors’ concerns about the Federal Reserve aggressively raising interest rates.

Meanwhile, news that Kmart will merge with Sears, Roebuck & Coin a surprise $11 billion transaction lifted Sears shares 22% to US$55.25, while Kmart gained 16.9% to US$118.29.

At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 110.03 points, or 1.05%, at 10,597.68.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was ahead 32.42 points, or 1.56%, at 2,111.04, and the broader S&P 500 was 12.44 points, or 1.06%, higher at 1,187.87.