The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange clawed its way back from a 500-point loss on Thursday to close only slightly lower as bargain hunters returned to the market.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 53.88 points, or 0.58 percent, to end at 9,269.97.

Gold producers were hit hard by today’s low reading on U.S consumer inflation. Gold for December delivery fell US$34.50, or 4.1%, to end at US$804.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Barrick Gold Corp. fell 12.5% and Goldcorp Inc. fell 10.9%.

Even though the price of crude fell, a number of TSX energy producers performed well. Canadian Oil Sands Trust rose 10.6% and EnCana Corp. rose 5%.

The price of oil plunged below US$70 a barrel Thursday after the U.S. government reported massive increases in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery settled down US$4.69 at US$69.85.

Among financial stocks, Royal Bank of Canada gained 1.5%.

Bargain hunters steered clear of small-cap stocks today. The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 53.42 points, or 5.39%, to close at 937.79.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.45 of a cent to close at US84.63¢.

In New York, stocks soared as bargain hunters snapped up beaten-down shares the day after Wall Street’s worst day since the 1987 stock market crash.

Trading was extremely volatile during the session, as the Dow swung in a range of 700 points.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 401.35 points, or 4.68%, to close at 8,979.26. The S&P climbed 38.53 points, or 4.24%, to 946.37. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 89.38 points, or 5.49%, at 1,717.71.

After markets closed, search engine giant Google Inc. posted a 34% in revenue, and said profit for the third quarter that totalled US$1.35 billion.