TORONTO - The Toronto stock market's main index posted a triple-digit gain Thursday morning as energy and gold shares moved higher.

New York indexes were weak following mixed retail data while investors assessed a big takeover in the U.S. chemical industry and plans by General Electric to spin off its consumer and industrial unit

Attention was also focused on speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index advanced more than 100 points early in the session, eased back slightly and then revived again to a midmorning gain of 109.20 points at 13,720.00 - after tumbling 199 points Wednesday on falling energy and financial stocks.

The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 3.34 points to 2,375.83 while the Canadian dollar jumped up 0.84 cent to 99.74 cents US.

New York's Dow Jones industrial average added to Wednesday's 237-point loss, slipping 1.95 points to 11,145.49 as Bernanke and Paulson told Congress that new regulatory powers are needed to insulate the national economy from damage in the event that a big Wall Street firm collapses.

The Nasdaq composite index was 6.72 points higher to 2,241.61.

The S&P 500 index was off 2.81 points to 1,241.88 as initial data showed that tax-rebate cheques boosted U.S. retail sales last month but shoppers stuck to buying necessities as they worried about high gasoline and food prices and the slumping housing market.

That was good news for Wal-Mart Stores and Costco Wholesale, which reported better-than-expected sales results. But apparel and accessories retailers like Nordstrom, Abercrombie & Fitch, Limited Brands, and American Eagle Outfitters all sustained sales declines for June.

General Electric said it is focusing on spinning off its consumer and industrial businesses, which make light bulbs and household appliances such as dishwashers and clothes dryers. The conglomerate continues to explore options but believes it makes most sense to spin off the entire unit, keeping its leadership and workforce intact. GE shares edged up 19 cents to US$27.38.

In takeover news, Dow Chemical will buy specialty chemicals maker Rohm and Haas in a deal valued at US$18.8 billion. The price is a 74 per cent premium to Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas's price Thursday, and Dow said Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and the Kuwaiti Investment Authority are investing in the transaction.

Investors were encouraged by a government report that U.S. filings for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, but financial sector worries continued to buffet American indexes.

There are intensifying worries about the future of American government-backed mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Paulson stressed in his congressional testimony that both companies are adequately capitalized, but Fannie Mae's beaten-down shares dropped a further $2.64 to $12.67 while Freddie Mac fell $2.69 to US$12.62.

The TSX financial sector moved down 0.75 per cent as TD Bank (TSX: TD.TO) fell $1.10 to $60.14 while CIBC (TSX: CM.TO) declined 83 cents to $53.13.

But the oil and gas group turned up about one per cent as the August crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved $1.66 higher to US$137.71 a barrel. Oil prices had closed flat Wednesday after retreating about US$9 from last week's record close.

An OPEC report released Thursday predicted world energy demand will swell by 50 per cent by 2030, but said supply can keep pace.

Gold prices advanced with the August bullion contract in New York up $14.80 to US$943.40 an ounce, sending the TSX gold sector up 2.6 per cent. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: G.TO) headed $1.58 higher to $46.38.

Research In Motion (TSX: RIM.TO) shares were up 31 cents to $119.01 despite a Nomura analyst's report that the company is having problems with the touch interface on its planned Thunder device.

On the earnings front, Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM-A.TO) moved down $1.47 to $29.73 after the radio, TV and billboard operator posted a 21 per cent rise in spring-quarter net income to $43.3 million - short of expectations in an "increasingly challenging economic environment."

Overseas equity markets were mixed, with London's FTSE 100 index down 115.5 points to 5,414.1 after the Bank of England held its policy interest rate steady at five per cent.

Economists expect the British central bank's next rate move to be upward.

German's DAX index declined 87.8 points to 6,298.66 and the Paris CAC-40 lost 125 points to 4,214.66.

Japan's Nikkei stock average edged up 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat and the Shanghai composite index declined 1.5 per cent.