After a wild ride for stocks on Wednesday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange defied the downward trend among international markets for the day and finished up more than 2%.

After a mid-day drop that saw the S&P/TSX composite index at a triple-digit loss, late-day trading pushed it up by 226.76 points, or 2.31%, to close at 10,056.31.

Gold miners lead the way in Toronto, pulling the materials group up 12.27% for the day. This coincided with continued gains for gold futures, which topped US$900 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange for the first time since Sept. 29. Gold for December delivery gained US$24.50, or 2.8%, to close at US$906.50 an ounce.

The sub-gold index soared 19.10%.

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. gained a hefty $6.38, or 18.95%, to close at $40.05, while Goldcorp Inc. shares were up $5.77, or 20%, to end the day at $34.60.

Fertilizer companies also enjoyed gains, including a 14% gain for shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., which closed at $110.50.

Crude for November delivery fell US$1.11, or 1.2%, to close at US$88.95 a barrel on the Nymex.

This drop was felt by energy companies on the TSX, which collectively fell 0.51% Wednesday. This included a 1.76% drop for shares of Petro-Canada, which closed at $27.31, but other energy companies managed gains. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. shares rose 3.11%, finishing the day at $57.

The financials group gained 0.98%, led by a 3.11% boost for shares of Bank of Nova Scotia, which closed at $44.49, and a 4.31% gain for shares of Manulife Financial Corp., which ended at $34.11.

The Canadian dollar fell more than 1¢ on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar gained strength. The loonie shed 1.25¢ to close at US89.06¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 21.82 points, or 1.99%, to close at 1072.64.

Elsewhere in the world, markets were down considerably despite a co-ordinated move by central banks to cut interest rates.

In New York, U.S. stocks experienced wild swings similar to those felt on the TSX. By day’s end, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 189 points, or 2%, at 9,258.1. The S&P 500 index lost 11.29 points, or 1.1%, closing at 984.94, while the Nasdaq composite index shed 14.55 points, or 0.8%, to end at 1,740.33.

In Europe, bourses also closed lower despite efforts to shore up the British banking system.

The UK government today announced a US$87.5 billion plan on to partly nationalize major banks.

The UK FTSE 100 index fell 5.2% to 4,366.69, the French CAC-40 index fell 6.3% to 3,496.89 and the German DAX 30 index dropped 5.9% to 5,013.62.