TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto stock market rang up a triple-digit early gain Friday as the information technology group surged ahead after a strong quarterly report from Research In Motion (TSX:RIM).

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 125.54 points to 13,841.21 as the final trading day of the second quarter got underway ahead of the three-day Canada Day weekend. The TSX Venture Exchange gained 14.61 points to 3,148.64.

The senior market’s information technology sector rose 5.3 per cent as RIM climbed 18 per cent, gaining $31.96 to $207.18. The BlackBerry maker announced late Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 73 per cent, and issued a glowing outlook while announcing a plan to split its stock three-for-one.

The Canadian dollar hit a 30-year high of 95.33 cents US overnight, but receded to 94.21 cents, off 0.18 cent from Thursday, after Statistics Canada reported economic activity was flat in April, below expectations of a 0.3 per cent gain.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrials rose 19.51 points to 13,441.79. The Nasdaq composite index gained 9.84 to 2,618.21 and the S&P 500 index climbed 4.43 to 1,510.14.

The Commerce Department said U.S. consumers boosted their spending by 0.5 per cent in May as incomes grew solidly, an encouraging sign that high gasoline prices haven’t killed people’s appetite to buy. But the latest snapshot of consumer behaviour was a bit weaker than the 0.7 per cent growth economists were expecting.

Oil prices shot back up above US$70 a barrel as light sweet crude for August delivery gained 89 cents to US$70.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On the TSX, the energy sector rose 1.3 per cent.
In corporate news, Norilsk Nickel said shareholders with 90 per cent of Canada’s LionOre Mining International Ltd. (TSX:LIM) stock have accepted its takeover bid. LionOre shares climbed 10 cents to $27.55.

A small group of Mohawk protesters disrupted transport in Canada’s busiest travel corridor on a national day of action over concerns about aboriginal poverty, health and land claims. The protest by about 40 people west of Kingston, Ont., led to the closure of two major highways, as well as the main CN Rail line (TSX:CNR). CNR shares were up 54 cents to $54.09.

Apple was in focus as the company released its iPhone to the public. The combined cellphone, iPod and web browser goes on sale in the United States at 6 p.m. in each time zone.
In London, the FTSE 100 index was off 4.80 points to 6,566.50. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 was up 31.11 to 7,952.47 and the Paris CAC 40 increased 11.32 to 6,017.63.

Asian markets were mixed as Japanese stocks climbed for a second session and Hong Kong shares declined on profit-taking.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 206.09 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 18,138.36, in its biggest gain of the month.

In Hong Kong, the market was weighed down by declines in China Mobile and HSBC. The Hang Seng index fell 165.49 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 21,772.73.