Dow surges 619 points

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 600 points on Wednesday, breaking a six-day losing streak.

The index surged 619.07 points to finish the day at 16,285.51.

That more than matched its worst one-day drop since the recent sell-off began—588.4 points on Monday—but leaving the index still down more than 700 points over the period.

Read: Why investors are selling stocks

The S&P 500 gained 72.90 points to close at 1,940.51 while the Nasdaq jumped 191.05 points to finish the day at 4,697.54.

Here at home, the S&P/TSX composite index erased its earlier losses, posting a triple-digit gain.

The index rose 230.66 to close at 13,381.59.

Read: Money managers worry about emerging markets

On commodity markets, the October oil contract settled down 71 cents at US$38.60 a barrel, while December gold lost $13.70 to US$1,124.60 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar, which hit 11-year lows on Tuesday, was up 0.13 of a U.S. cent at 75.06 cents U.S.

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