After a volatile day, the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada’s benchmark index, finished slightly below where it started on Friday, managing to close at above 9,000 for a second consecutive day.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished at 9,065.76, down 7.38 points, or 0.1%.

Gold futures continued to fall on Friday, sending the sub-gold index down a sharp 7.3%. Gold for April delivery fell US$11.80, or 1.3%, to end at US$895.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, the contract shed 3%.

Weighed down by gold stocks, the materials group shed 4.1%.

Shares of Yamana Gold Inc. fell 6.3% to $10.40 and Barrick Gold Corp. tumbled 6.8% to $37.31.

Goldcorp Inc. dropped $2.36, or 5.8%, to close at $38.10.

Crude for May delivery ended down US$0.13, or 0.2%, at US$52.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, the contract added 0.3%.

The energy group was unchanged on Friday.

Higher for the day was Talisman Energy, up 2.1% to $14.58, and Addax Petroleum Corp., up 2.1% to $30.26.

Niko Resources Ltd. added $1.36, or 2.2%, to finish at $64.55.

Meanwhile, Husky Energy Inc. fell 3.1% to $27.59 and Imperial Oil Ltd. fell 1.7% to $47.20.

Financial stocks advanced 0.7% during Friday’s trading.

Shares of CIBC rose $1.37, or 2.9%, to $48.87 and Royal Bank of Canada increased 1.3% to $38.47.

Toronto-Dominion Bank shares gained 2.7% to $46.18.

Manulife Financial Corp. fell 1.7% to $16.40.

Shares of Research in Motion surged sharply higher after the company reported a record profit of US$518.3 million in the fourth quarter, ended Feb. 28. RIM’s stock gained $11.81, or 19.4%, to close at $72.80.

RIM’s advance pulled the information technology group up 6.9% on the TSX.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index dipped 2.68 points, or 0.3%, to close at 975.59.

The loonie advanced US0.68¢ to close at US81.27¢.

U.S. markets registered gains on Friday for a fourth consecutive session, despite news that the U.S. economy lost 663,000 jobs in March.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 39.51 points, or 0.5%, to end at 8,017.59, a weekly advance of 3.1%.

The S&P 500 index rose 8.12 points, or 1%, to close at 842.5, up 3.3% for the week.

The Nasdaq composite index added 19.24 points, or 1.2%, to close at 1,621.87, a weekly gain of 5%.