An opportunity to snap up depressed stocks at low prices has drawn investors into North American markets Thursday, while uncertainty pushed stock exchanges in Asia down and European markets saw gains.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up 340.91 points, or 2.8 per cent, to 12,539.8.
South of the border, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 423.37 points to 11,142.78, after suffering punishing losses in recent days. The Nasdaq composite index was up 111.63 points to 2,492.68 and the S&P 500 index closed up 51.88 points to 1,172.64.
The Canadian dollar traded 0.66 higher, to 101.18 cents US.
Overseas, European stocks went up, then down, then up again, finishing the day with notable gains.
Germany's DAX appreciated by 3.51 per cent during Thursday trading, while France's CAC-40 was up 2.62 per cent and Britain's FTSE 100 increased 3.1 per cent.
Joshua Raymond, the chief market strategist at City Index, said the good start to the North American trading day helped push European markets into positive territory.
"Investors made tentative attempts to pick up some of the more badly beaten stocks, taking confidence from a positive opening to U.S. markets," Raymond told The Associated Press.
"This in turn sparked a revival of fortunes for European indices, whose early gains had been progressively sold into as the session continued."
Investors faced a tougher day in Japan where the Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.6 per cent, and major consumer electronics giants Sony and Panasonic saw stock declines, as did automakers Honda and Nissan.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slid 1 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi moved up and down like a see-saw, eventually ending up in positive territory.
Like the Kospi, China's Shanghai Composite Index was one of the few Asian markets to eke out gains during Thursday trading.
Gold prices were down slightly on Thursday, but still near record levels at US$1,751.50 an ounce. Meanwhile the price of oil rose $2.83 to US$85.72 a barrel.
There was positive news on the U.S. job front, with the U.S. Labor Department reporting Thursday morning that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits hit a four-month low last week. Applications for unemployment aid dropped by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 395,000.
Paul Dales, a senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said the Labor Department data showed the job market is not getting worse.
"Of course, it tells us nothing about hiring, which the market turmoil of recent weeks will not have helped," Dales said.
A recent downgrade to the credit rating on U.S. debt has sent jitters through world markets, leaving America with new challenges for its economy, which some experts fear could fall into a second recession.
Those worries about the U.S. economy, compounded with fears about debt problems in Europe, have led to steep losses on global markets over the past three weeks.
With files from The Associated Press
