The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange recovered from triple-digit losses on Thursday afternoon to close up 40 points, led by gains in the materials group.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 40.89 points, or 0.5%, to close at 8,778.78. A mid-afternoon power outage in downtown Toronto impacted the building in which the Toronto Stock Exchange operates, but trading on the exchange continued through a separate power source.

Materials companies advanced 1.3% as gold futures continued to climb. Gold for February delivery ended up US$4.70, or 0.5%, at US$948.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The sub-gold index moved higher by 0.5%.

Goldcorp Inc. advanced 1.5% to $39.62 and Barrick Gold Corp. shares rose 1.3% to $48.53.

Shares of Agrium Inc. rose $1.74, or 3.7%, to $48.95.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. increased 4.8% to $28.85.

Financials stocks slipped 0.8% as a slew of companies revealed quarterly earnings that were hit hard by the economic downturn.

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp. tumbled 6% to $18.20 after the company reported a loss of $1.87 billion in the fourth quarter — even worse than the $1.5-billion loss estimated in early December.

Shares in Sun Life Financial Inc. finished up 0.5% after it said fourth-quarter earnings slid to $129 million, down from year-earlier profits of $555 million. Sun Life’s stock rose $0.15 to $23.15.

Canaccord Capital Inc. shares fell 1.2% to $4.25 as the company reported a $62.4-million net loss in its fiscal third quarter.

Other financial stocks advanced, including National Bank of Canada, up 4.3% to $37.00 and Bank of Nova Scotia, up 1.5% to $29.95.

The energy group dipped 0.2% on Thursday as oil futures continued their descent. Crude oil for March delivery fell US$1.96, or 5.5%, to end at US$33.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange

Shares in Nexen Inc. fell 2.7% after the company recorded a fourth-quarter loss of $181 million, reversing year-earlier profits of $194 million. Nexen’s stock slipped $0.47 to $16.97.

EnCana Corp. reported that fourth-quarter earnings slipped to US$1.07 billion from US$1.08 billion recorded a year ago. Its stock finished at $53.41, up 0.6%.

Shares of Husky Energy Inc. fell 1.3% to $29.30.

Petro-Canada shares got a boost, rising 2.4% to $28.66.

The S&P/TSX Venture exchange also witnessed gains on Thursday, sending the composite index up 4.61 points, or 0.5%, to 915.87.

The Canadian dollar retreated slightly, dipping US0.13¢ to close at US80.33¢.

In New York, U.S. equities experienced a significant comeback of their own on Thursday, recovering from hefty losses to end nearly flat.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 6.77 points, or 0.1%, at 7,932.76. Earlier, the blue-chip index was down more than 250 points.

The S&P 500 index gained 1.45 points, or 0.2%, to end at 835.19.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 11.21 points, or 0.7%, to 1,541.71.

IE