Toronto stocks recovered from early-day losses to land firmly in positive territory on Friday, as commodity prices advanced and posted gains for the week.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 141.41 points, or 1.7%, to end at 8,627.97. For the week, the benchmark index was down 292 points, or 3.3%.

The materials group led the gains on Friday, moving higher by 6%.

Gold futures for February delivery climbed US$37, or 4.3%, to settle at US$895.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, gold was higher by US$55.90, or 7%.

The TSX sub-gold index jumped 7.3%.

Shares of HudBay Minerals surged 24.2% after the Ontario Securities Commission ordered that HudBay receive shareholder approval before proceeding with its planned $550-million takeover of Lundin Mining. HudBay shares rose 85¢ to $4.37.

Shares of Lundin Mining Corp. plunged 22.7% to $0.92.

Barrick Gold Corp. shares jumped a sharp $4.09, or 9.2%, to close at $48.79 and Goldcorp Inc. saw its shares surge 9% to $36.25.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.’s stock rose $5.02, or 7.8%, to end at $69.49.

Shares of Eldorado Gold Corp. soared 10.7% one day after the company reported that it expects to produce between 325,000 and 340,000 ounces of gold in 2009, up from 300,000 in 2008. Eldorado shares rose $0.95 to $9.85.

Energy stocks also advanced on Friday, gaining 3.5%, after oil futures closed higher for the week. Crude oil for March delivery rose US$2.44, or 5.6%, to close at US$46.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, oil futures rose US$3.90, or 9%, from last Friday’s closing level of US$42.57 a barrel.

In Toronto, Suncor Energy Inc. was up 5.2% to $24.10, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 4.5% to $44.75.

Also higher was EnCana Corp., higher by 3.3% to $54.50 and Nexen Inc., up 5.1% to $17.88.

Financial stocks bounced back from sharp early-day losses, but failed to emerge from the red, finishing lower by 0.8%.

Lower for the day were shares of Royal Bank of Canada, off 6.6% to $28.08, and Power Financial Corp., down 4% to $21.65.

Toronto-Dominion Bank shares dipped 1.7% to $39.00.

Others advanced, including Manulife Financial Corp., up 5.5% to $20.14 and CIBC, up 1.7% to $44.00.

Shares of Canadian National Railway rose after the company raised its dividend by 10% and reported a higher than expected fourth-quarter profit of $573 million. CN shares gained $1.79, or 4.5%, to $41.74.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite rose 9.48 points, or 1.1%, to end at 859.69.

The Canadian dollar moved higher by nearly a cent and a half against the greenback, to close at US81.22¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks finished mostly higher on Friday, with investors displaying optimism as the government moved closer to consensus on the massive economic stimulus package. Still, U.S. equities were down for the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.24 points, or 0.6%, to 8,077.56, leaving the blue chip benchmark down by 2.5% for the week.

The S&P 500 index rose 4.45 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 831.95. For the week, it slipped 2.1%.

The Nasdaq composite gained 11.8 points, or 0.8%, to 1,477.29, to finish the week off 3.4%.