Grim quarter closes on a high note

The Toronto Stock Exchange posted a significant rally on Wednesday as North American equity markets posted strong results on the final day of what has been a dismal quarter for investors.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/ TSX index ended the day up 270 points at 13,306.96, yet the index is still 1,200 points or 8.5 per cent lower than where it stood at the end of June.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 235.57 points to 16,284.70, while the broader S&P 500 advanced 35.94 points to 1,920.03 and the Nasdaq gained 102.84 points to 4,620.16.

The big gains in North America followed similar rebounds in Europe and Asia, although many of those indexes were also heading for their worst quarterly performances in years. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 2.2 per cent, France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.6 per cent and Germany’s DAX gained 2.2 per cent. Today’s recovery came after analysts suggested that Monday’s sell-off, which saw shares fall 16.5 per cent, was a buying opportunity for investors.

On the commodity markets, gold fell $11.60 to US$1,115.50 an ounce, while the November crude oil closed down 14 cents to US$45.09 a barrel. The November natural gas contract fell 6.2 cents to US$2.524 per thousand cubic feet.

The loonie ended the day up 0.4 of a U.S. cent to US74.93 cents, slightly above the 11-year low it hit earlier this week.