The Toronto Stock Exchange ended the day in positive territory Friday after a volatile week of trading on uncertain oil prices and jitters about the future of the U.S. financial industry.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index rose 156.82 points to 12,769.58.
The Canadian dollar closed at 94.24 cents US Friday, up 1.35 cents, after hitting a 13-month low on Thursday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 31 cents to settle at $101.18 a barrel, after briefly sinking to $99.99 as refineries in the Gulf of Mexico battened down the hatches over concern about the impact of hurricane Ike.
Crude oil on the futures market briefly sank below the psychologically important US$100-a-barrel mark for the first time since April 2 – showing that investors believe a worsening global economy will continue to drive down demand for some time in the United States and elsewhere.
In the past weeks, falling crude prices have driven down Canada's main stock index, which is heavily weighted to oil, gas and commodity companies, as higher prices contribute to demand destruction.
Shares in EnCana Corp. (TSX: ECA) rose 87 cents to $71.69 as the energy sector ended the day up two per cent Friday.
"Until you get the hurricane out of the way, until you get some resolution on Lehman Brother, Merrill Lynch, and all the others, you're going to get more of the same (volatility)," said Irwin Michael of ABC Funds in Toronto.
"You have continuing concern about Lehman Brothers ... and the other one that we're watching closely is AIG, the big American insurance company. It's overhanging the market and until people know that, there's a lot of concern."
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.48 points to 11,422.23 as disappointing economic data on U.S. retail sales and nervousness over the health of financials made investors jittery.
The Nasdaq rose 3.05 points to 2,261.27, while the S&P 500 index was up 2.65 points to 1,251.70.
Confidence has waned that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will emerge from the financial crisis as an independent franchise, and the No. 4 U.S. investment bank is scouring Wall Street for a financial lifeline.
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 43.71 points at 1,607.53.
On the TSX, the financial and information technology sectors created the biggest drag, each falling more than one per cent.
TD Bank (TSX: TD) stock was off by 56 cents to $62.29 while Research in Motion (TSX: RIM) was down 4.7 per cent at $112.36.
The gold sector rose more than nine per cent as the December bullion contract on the Nymex rose $19 to US$764.50 an ounce and Goldcorp (TSX: G) rose 14.5 per cent to $31.36.
In other news, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a re-elected Conservative government would make it easier for foreign companies to buy parts of Canadian firms.
The Tories would also increase the allowed level of foreign investment in airlines to 49 per cent from the current 25, and allow foreign companies to own Canadian uranium mines.
Shares in Cameco (TSX: CCO) were up 38 cents to $27.25.
Boralex Power Income Fund (TSX: BPT.UN), a Montreal-based electricity generator, said its decision to temporarily halt its wood-residue thermal power stations at Senneterre and Dolbeau in Quebec won't affect its current rate of distributions at 70 cents per year. Its stock closed at $4.18, up three per cent.
