The close: TSX is in the money

The close: TSX is in the money

RTGAMChampagne corks were popping on Bay Street on Thursday afternoon after
the SP/TSX composite index closed at 13,909.58, up 159.03 points, or 1.2 per cent. The gain put the benchmark index above water for the year - by 0.6 per cent. That's the first time it has been in money-making territory since Jan. 3. Let the good times roll!The TSX twins - Research In Motion Ltd. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. - were again the biggest two drivers behind the push to profitability, rising 2.4 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.But the index was actually firing on all cylinders, with all 10 sub-indexes contributing to the gains.

The utilities sub-index was the biggest winner, thanks to TransAlta Corp.'s 5.9 per cent gain. Meanwhile, MDA Corp., whose deal to sell its satellite unit to Alliant Techsystems Inc. was scuttled by Ottawa, fell 8.5 per cent, making it the single biggest drag on the index.In the United States, technology stocks were all the rage after reports connected Microsoft Corp. to News Corp., and Yahoo Inc. to Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit. Intel Corp. rose 3.1 per cent and International Business Machines Corp. rose 1.7 per cent. As for Microsoft and Yahoo, the two tech companies in the midst of a takeover dance, their stocks rose 0.8 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 12,581.98 up 54.72 points or 0.4 per cent. The broader S[amp]amp;P 500 closed at 1360.55, up 6.06 points or 0.5 per centnbsp;Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail