Sydney - Australian stocks went on a roller-coaster ride Friday, losing more than 3 per cent on the bell but ending the session almost 2 per cent higher.

The ASX 200 added 63 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 3,416. The choppy trading came as the market realized a 50-per-cent fall from its November 2007 peak.

It's the second-worst bear market since shares fell 59 per cent in 1973-74 and had Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens anxiously trying to take investors out of dumping more stock.

"Given that we have that scope, and given the underlying strengths of the economy, about the biggest mistake we could make would be to talk ourselves into unnecessary economic weakness," he said.

But most analysts were loathe to say the bear market was nearing an end.

"We're closer to the bottom than the top, but I'm not prepared to say we have hit bottom yet," AMP Capital strategist Shane Oliver told The Australian.

Wilson Asset Management chief Geoff Wilson predicted the market would bleed well into next year, "but when it does turn, we'll have one of the greatest bull runs." (dpa)