Toronto stocks managed a second day of strong gains on Wednesday, pulling the benchmark index up more than 300 points led by energy and materials shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 349.93 points, or 3.82% to close at 9,501.56.

Leading the gains was the materials group, which rose 10.9% thanks to strong gains in prices of gold, copper and other commodities. Gold for December delivery rose US$13.50, or 1.8%, to close at US$755 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The sub-gold index soared 8.4%.

Gains in gold futures helped Barrick Gold Corp. shares surge more than 10% to close at $27.90, while shares of Goldcorp Inc. surged an even larger 13.8% to finish at $23.50. Kinross Gold Corp. enjoyed a 19.4% boost, with shares closing at $12.85.

Also up sharply were shares of Agrium Inc., which rose 10.68% to close at $43.00, and Potash Corp., which gained 8.99% to end at $97.97.

Oil futures enjoyed a rally of their own, with crude for December delivery gaining US$4.77, or 7.6%, to close at US$67.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the largest daily percentage gain since June.

Strong oil prices helped the energy group on the TSX gain 8.6%, led by an increase of $6.90, or 13.44%, for shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which closed at $58.25. Also up sharply were shares of EnCana Corp., which gained 6.67% to close at $59.20 and Suncor Energy, which rose 10.28% to close at $28.01.

The rally in commodity prices, alongside a weakening American dollar, helped the Canadian dollar experience it’s largest single-day jump on record. The loonie surged 3.67¢ against the greenback, to close at US81.63¢.

Financials stocks gained 1.15%, led by a strong 7.7% boost for shares of Manulife Financial Corp., which closed at $25.30.

Shares of TMX Group Inc. rose more than 10% after the company reported a 19% increase in profit for the third quarter. The shares closed at $27.49.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index increased 41.38 points, or 5.06%, to end at 858.32.

In New York, most of the gains made throughout the day were wiped out in the last few minutes of trading, after the Federal Reserve announced a cut to the interest rate of half a percentage point.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which was up about 200 points earlier in the day, closed down 74.16 points, or 0.8%, at 8,990.96.

A similar trend for the S&P 500 saw the index grow during the afternoon, then finish the day down 10.42 points, or 1.1%, to end at 930.09.

Although the Nasdaq composite index experienced the same late-day plunge, it managed to buck the trend and finish the day with a slight gain of 7.74 points, or 0.5%, at 1,657.21.