Markets skyrocketed Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it will loan up to US$200 billion in securities in order to inject liquidity into markets.

Here at home, the Bank of Canada, working in conjunction with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank, said it will auction $4 billion in repurchase agreements over the next month.

The S&P/TSX Composite index soared 339.44 points, or 2.61%, to end at 13,344.53, as the coordinated efforts of the central banks boosted investor confidence.

All of the 10 major TSX groups gained today.

The materials group led, gaining 4.76%.

The gold sub-index gained 4.10%, as gold for April delivery jumped US$4.20 to US$976 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The major gold companies reversed yesterday’s slide in today’s upbeat markets. Goldcorp. Inc. shares closed up $2, or 4.90%, end at $42.81. As well, Kinross Gold Corp. shares gained $1.42, or 5.90%, to close at $25.50.

The heavyweight energy group moved up 2.16%. Encana Corp. shares gained 79¢, or 1.04%, to end at $76.50.

Oil for April delivery rose 85¢, or 0.8%, to close at US$108.75 a barrel on the Nymex, after crude futures neared US$110 a barrel last night in electronic trading.

The financials group gained 2.30%.

CIBC shares gained $2.09, or 3.48%, to close out at $62.22. TD Bank Financial shares gained $2.29, or 3.72%, to finish at $63.85. However, BMO didn’t share in today’s big gains, as its stock lost 19¢, or 0.45%, to close at $41.91.

In individual stocks, Empire Co. Ltd., parent company of the Sobeys supermarket chain, announced Q3 profits rose 52%, to $48.6 million. The company’s shares gained 85¢, or 2.35%, to end at $37.05.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 3.24 points, or 0.12%, to end at 2,667.37.

The Canadian dollar closed out at par with the U.S. dollar today, as data from StatsCan revealed Canada’s trade surplus expanded by $1 billion, to $3.3 billion in January.

On Wall Street, investors went wild on news of the Fed’s liquidity injection and all indexes surged ahead.

The Dow gained 416.66 points, or 3.55%, to end at 12,156.81.

The S&P 500 gained 47.28 points, or 3.71%, to close at 1,320.65.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended up 86.42 points, or 3.98%, at 2,255.76.