(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks skyrocketed in the last hour of trading on Friday to end an otherwise abysmal week on a relatively high note. Investors rushed back into beaten down energy stocks, while others hedged their bets by snapping up gold stocks at a record pace.

After hovering in slightly positive territory for most the session, the S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 430.63 points to 8,155.39. With the advance, the main index moved away from yesterday’s 5-year closing low.

Energy stocks were energized, surging higher by almost 10 percent even after the price of oil closed below $50 for a second day in a row.

Gold stocks showed the most strength, soaring an unprecedented 26 percent on the wings of massive gains from Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) and Centerra Gold (CG.TO). Centerra shares rose 65 percent, while Barrick, the world’s largest gold producer, jumped 32 percent.

Financials made furious comeback, finishing in the green after spending most of the session deep in the negative territory. Banks and insurers were hammered this weeks, but managed to stabilize as traders picked up bargains.

Tech stocks rose 5.7 percent, with Research in Motion (RIM.TO) adding 6.4 percent and Celestica (CLS.TO) adding 15.8 percent.

One of the few horrible performances came from Hudbay Minerals (HBY.TO), which tumbled almost 40 percent after revealing that it is buying Lundin Mining Corp. (LUM.TO) for $814 million in stock.

Yesterday was the worst daily percentage drop for Toronto’s main index since the October 1987 crash. Before today’s late rally, the main index was down almost 50 percent from its all-time peak set this summer.

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Posted in Categories: Canada, Releases, Stocks.

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