CANADA STOCKS-TSX climbs as upbeat China data drives resources
* TSX up 109.61 points, or 0.73 percent, at 15,190.93 * Nine of 10 main index sectors advance * BlackBerry dives after IBM-Apple partnership By John Tilak TORONTO, July 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced on Wednesday as positive economic data from China helped boost commodity prices and shares in the natural resource sectors.
Providing further support, figures from the U.S. Labor Department showed producer prices rose more than expected in June with gains across most categories.
China's economic growth picked up slightly in the second quarter, topping market expectations, as it benefited from the government's stimulus measures.
"It should create more demand for resources. That's a positive," said Andy Nasr, managing director and senior portfolio manager at Middlefield Capital.
"An improvement in the U.S. economy will have a very good impact on the Canadian economy," he added.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 109.61 points, or 0.73 percent, at 15,190.93.
The index is up nearly 12 percent this year, but some investors are worried about valuations getting extended and the likelihood of a possible correction.
"We're susceptible to a pullback, but I will use a pullback as a buying opportunity," Nasr said.
Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher on Wednesday.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, added 0.6 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia gained 0.9 percent to C$73.38.
Shares of energy producers reflected a rise in the price of U.S. crude oil. Suncor Energy Inc climbed 1.1 percent to C$44.67, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd rose 1.1 percent to C$47.92.
The gold-mining sector rebounded with the bullion price after sharp declines in the previous two sessions. Goldcorp Inc advanced 1 percent to C$29.31, and Barrick Gold Corp jumped 1.3 percent to C$19.97.
Barrick was also in the news for announcing that Chief Executive Officer Jamie Sokalsky would step down on Sept. 15.
BlackBerry shares tumbled 5.3 percent, to C$11.50, a day after International Business Machines Corp said it planned to partner with Apple Inc to sell iPhones and iPads loaded with applications geared to business users.
(Editing by Tom Brown)
