Toronto stocks soared at the close on Thursday, led by strength in energy and materials issues.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 430.21 points, or 4.8%, to end at 9352.78. Earlier in the session, the index touched a low of 8,572.

Oil prices jumped nearly 4% on Thursday as OPEC seemed poised to cut production again later this month and a rebound in equity markets offset growing signs of slowing demand.

U.S. crude settled up US$2.08 at US$58.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Toronto, EnCana Corp. rose 8.7%.

Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. rose 11.5%, as the price of gold dropped to $705 an ounce, down $13.30, or 1.9%, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Among financial services stocks, Royal Bank of Canada rose 5.3%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 8.91 points, or 1.08%, at 813.59.

The Canadian dollar bounced back from yesterday’s losses, rising 1.73¢ to US82.54¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks rallied with the major indices ending up over 6% as bargain hunters rushed to scoop up beaten-down shares after the Dow broke below the 8,000 mark earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 552.59 points, or 6.67%, to end at 8,835.25. The S&P 500 Index shot up 58.99 points, or 6.92%, to finish at 911.29. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index surged 97.49 points, or 6.50%, to close u at 1,596.70.

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