The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Canada's main stock index gained more than 200 points Friday, led by strength in utilities and base metals, while U.S. stock markets saw a steady rally on the last trading day before Donald Trump is inaugurated as U.S. president. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that markets cruised to their best week since Mr. Trump was elected, despite the uncertainty that lies ahead, said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J. Zechner Associates. "The risk-on trade seems to have come back in the past week," he said. The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 221.72 points at 25,067.92. In New York, the Dow was up 334.70 points at 43,487.83. The S&P 500 Index was up 59.32 points at 5,996.66, while the Nasdaq composite was up 291.91 points at 19,630.20. Equities were spurred on last week by good earnings from the major U.S. banks as well as optimism over some of Mr. Trump's promised policies, such as tax cuts, Mr. Zechner said. There was also a promising report on U.S. inflation earlier in the week that helped reignite hopes for interest-rate cuts in 2025. Major tech names led the way higher in the U.S. Friday, including Alphabet, Tesla and Nvidia.