Wall Street's main stock indexes climbed more than 1 per cent on Friday, giving investors some solace after a week of huge swings that shook the market out of months of calm.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 330.44 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 24,190.9, the S&P 500 gained 38.55 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 2,619.55 and the Nasdaq Composite added 97.33 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 6,874.49.

U.S. MARKETS

During Friday's session alone, the S&P 500 swung from as high as up 2.2 per cent to down 1.9 per cent, echoing the big swings of the past week. The Dow moved in a range of more than 1,000 points.

Even with Friday's gains, the benchmark S&P 500 fell 5.2 per cent for the week, its biggest weekly percentage drop since January 2016, as volatility spiked back up.

The fresh volatility came a day after the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow industrials confirmed they were in correction territory, both falling more than 10 per cent from Jan. 26 record highs.

Friday's session marked the latest day of sharp swings in the past week that have pulled stocks lower after a steady climb for months to record highs.

"I don't think the market is focused on fundamentals at all," Anwiti Bahuguna, senior portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments in Boston. "It's very volatile."

CANADIAN MARKETS

Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, closing at its lowest level in five months, reflecting weakness in mining stocks as gold futures and copper prices declined.

Of the index's 10 main industry groups, seven ended in negative territory.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.1 per cent.

Guyana Gold slid by 7.6 per cent, Eldorado Gold shed 7.1 per cent, New Gold dropped by 6.3 per cent and Oceangold Corp was down 5.9 per cent.

The largest per centage decliner was Sierra Wireless Inc, down 13.6 per cent, after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss after the bell on Thursday.

The index was posting no new 52-week highs and 50 new lows.

The Canadian economy lost the most jobs in nine years in January, pulling back after a robust 2017 and solidifying expectations the Bank of Canada will hold interest rates steady next month.

The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, rebounding from an earlier six-week low, as gains for U.S. stocks offset the biggest decline in domestic jobs in nine years. 

At 4 p.m. ET, the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1 per cent higher at 79.39 U.S. cents, up 0.11 cents from Thursday's close.