Stock markets rebound Friday after Thursday's steep fall

Toronto and New York markets rebounded Friday from steep losses the day before, as investors sought bargains amid Thursdays lower stock prices.

The Canadian dollar continued its fall below 90 cents US, and ended the day down 0.38 of a cent to 89.65 cents US.

A strong U.S. dollar and a revision to U.S. GDP showing second quarter growth was higher than expected weighed down the loonie.

Those better U.S. GDP numbers also buoyed Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials added167.35 points to 17,113.15,the Nasdaq gained 45.44 points to 4,512.19 and the S&P 500 index sawan uptick of 16.86 points to 1,982.85.

The Bank of Canada has put forward signals in the past week that it is hoping for a lower Canadian dollar, with speeches from governor Stephen Poloz and deputy Carolyn Wilkins reinforcing the message.

The bank is concerned about the slow growth of exports from Canada and a lower dollar could help exporters win more markets.

Despite the slow recovery of demand from the U.S., there is no clear upward trend in Canadian exporting.

"The Bank of Canada wants a lower loonie," he said. "It'll drive exports. We're an export-led economy and that's what we need," said Kevin Headland, director of the portfolio advisory group for Manulife Asset Management. Canadian markets remain vulnerable to low commodity prices, including gold and oil prices.

The Toronto marketplunged more than 200 points Thursday, capping a fifth day of declinesand taking the index below 15,000 for the first time since May. The U.S. indexes did even worse, with theDow down nearly 250 points.

But there clear reasons for optimism in markets today, with Apple regaining its shine after apologizing for a technical glitch.

Nike jumped 11 per cent after its earnings rose sharply, andJanus Capital Group soared 32 per cent after announcing it had hired star bond fund manager Bill Gross.

In Toronto BlackBerry had a strong gain after earnings exceeded expections and Bombardier was up on news of a firm order for 40 CSeries jets.