North American markets opened higher Friday and rallied though the day as traders seemed determined to put a miserable third quarter behind them.

The TSE 300 gained 169.15 points to close at 6,839.60.

Market momentum was resoundingly positive as advancers led decliners 712 to 355. Today’s gains were broad-based, with most sub-indices advancing. Only golds bucked the trend, dipping 0.52%.

The bellwether industrial sub-indexrose 4.12%, leading the gainers. Conglomerates rose 3.75%, while. metals and minerals were up by 3.16%.

Bombardier rebounded today, climbing 80¢ to $11.60. Other blue-chips posted gains, too. Nortel Networks rose 46¢ to $8.85. BCE rose 57¢ to $34.47. Canadian Pacific jumped $2.35 to $50.69

Not all recently beaten down stocks advanced today. Air Canada fell 21¢ to $3.64.

The oil and gas sub-index climbed 2.72¢ after oil prices rose by US50¢ a barrel. Canadian Hunter added $2.90 to close at $36.30. Talisman Energy climbed $2.70 to $54. Nexen rose $2.05 to $30.50.

Venture capital stocks also rallied today. The CDNX Index closed up 67.97 at 2,838.94/ Trading was heavy on a volume of 37.7 million shares worth, with 244 advances, 151 declines and 581 issues unchanged.

In New York, major indices had a resoundingly upbeat session. Blue-chips and tech stocks gained ground on the last trading day of the third quarter.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 38.09 points, or 2.6%, to 1,498.80. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 166.12 points, just under 2%, to 8,847.56. The S&P 500 also posted a 2% gain, adding 22.33 points to 1,040.94.