North American stocks recover from early losses

North American stock markets recovered from early losses as investors seemed to believe the U.S. government will come through with a bailout package for the Detroit Big Three automakers despite the recent failure in the U.S. Senate.

Bay Street and Wall Street both opened with triple-digit losses, but gradually regained ground as the day progressed

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index finished with a gain of 123.53 points at 8,515.45.

The gold sub-index was up 4.9 per cent, while the materials group added 3.7 per cent and financials rose 3.4 per cent

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average concluded with a rise of 64.59 points at 8,629.68, while the broader S&P 500 added 6.14 points to finish at 879.73. Nasdaq added 32.84 points, finishing at 1,540.72.

After being down sharply at the opening of trading, stocks of publicly traded automakers ultimately finished mixed. General Motors dropped 18 cents to $3.94 US, while Ford Motor Co. added 14 cents to end the week at $3.04 US on the New York Stock Exchange.