North American markets had a volatile session Friday as investors digested a barrage of corporate earnings reports and struggled to cope with anthrax fears.

After sinking as low as 6,865, the TSE 300 rallied late in the afternoon to close up 11.04 points at 6,911.

Overall, eight of the TSE 300’s 14 sub-indices posted gains up, as biotech shares lifted the consumer products sector 3.7%.

QLT soared 29% on news that more U.S. patients taking the company’s Visudyne drug will be covered under health insurance. The stock closed at $37.46.

The utilities sector went up 1.83%. Utilities were boosted by BCE Inc., which climbed 96¢, or 2.6%, to $37.89. Telus Corp. gained 3%, or 60¢ to C$20.50.

The influential industrial sub-index, home to Toronto’s tech stocks finished down slightly, off 0.25%.

Nortel Networks, which reported a $3.5 billion third-quarter loss on Thursday, fell 29¢ to $9.04.

Bombardier gained 14¢ to close at $11.51.

Cigarette maker Rothmans Inc. gained more than 5% to close at $30.05, after reporting its quarterly profit jumped 35%.

Market breadth was negative as decliners outpaced advancers 501 to 450. Volume was light with just 115.3 million shares changing hands.

Venture capital stocks eked out gains on Friday. The CDNX Index closed up 10.12 at 2,899.89. Trading was active on a volume of 26.0 million shares, with 201 advances, 141 declines and 523 issues unchanged.

On Wall Street, more reports of anthrax cases, options and the involvement of U.S. ground troops in Afghanistan helped make for a turbulent session.

After spending most of the day in the red, the Dow Jones industrial average rallied to close with a gain of 40.89 points at 9,204.11.

The Nasdaq composite index climbed 1%, or 18.58 points to close at 1,671.30. The S&P 500 added 4.87 points to close at 1,073.48.