Canada Shares Rally

Canada's benchmark TSE 300 closed higher after a nice afternoon rally, which got a boost from Nortel's gains. The exchange rose 79.6 points to 7682.2. On the week the TSE 300 is up -- albeit just 34.2 points, or 0.4%. Standard & Poor's says Friday's bullish reversal and close at the high of the week bodes well for next week's activity. Eight of the TSE 300's subindices fell, with the oil and gas index dropping 0.6%.

European markets rose sharply following an ugly week of earnings reports. In London, the Financial Times 100 gained 117.00 points, or 2.21%, to 5,403.10. In France, the CAC 40 Index was up 125.03 points, or 2.58%, to 4,967.15. Germany's DAX Index was up 95.65 points, or 1.69%, to 5,771.41.

Asian markets ended mixed. In Japan, the Nikkei lost 60.48, or 0.51%, to close at 11,798.08, on the heels of weak results at Sony and Fujitsu. The Hang Seng Index shed 142.35 points, or 1.18%, to close at 12,182.17.