Stocks rose on Friday, even as the devastation in Japan gripped headlines and fed uncertainty over how the powerful earthquake and tsunami will affect the global economy and commodity markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 12,044.40, up 59.79 points or 0.5 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1304.28, up 9.17 points or 0.7 per cent. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 13,674.25, up 35.67 points or 0.3 per cent.
Commodity producers generally led the market gains, even though commodity prices themselves fell over concerns that Japanese demand will fall in the near term. As well, U.S. President Barrack Obama said that he is prepared to tap the country's strategic oil reserves to address rising energy prices, if needed.
The price of crude oil fell to $101.16 (U.S.) a barrel in New York, down $1.54. Among energy producers, Suncor Energy Inc. rose 1.5 per cent and Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 0.9 per cent.
In economic news, the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey came in lower than expected. However, U.S. retail sales in February rose 1 per cent, which was in line with expectations.
In general, higher risk cyclical stocks enjoyed the biggest gains, suggesting that investors continue to have confidence in the global economic recovery, despite Thursday's sharp stock market downturn. Caterpillar Inc. rose 1.7 per cent, Alcoa Inc. rose 1.5 per cent, General Electric Co. rose 1.3 per cent and Walt Disney Co. rose 1.1 per cent.
Among Canadian stocks, materials were strong performers. Teck Resources Ltd. rose 2.5 per cent, Barrick Gold Corp. rose 0.6 per cent and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. rose 0.3 per cent.
David Berman