TSX rises as higher oil prices boost energy shares
(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced on Tuesday, led by sharp gains in energy stocks as oil prices rose above $68 a barrel on OPEC supply cuts and expectations of lower U.S. inventories. At 9:38 a.m. ET (1338 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 97.58 points, or 0.61 percent, at 16,163.44. Of the 11 major TSX sectors, the energy sector's 1.8 percent climb was the steepest. U.S. crude prices were up 2.1 percent a barrel, while Brent crude added 1.3 percent. [O/R] The financials sector gained 0.5 percent, while the industrials sector rose 0.8 percent. The materials stocks, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, dipped 0.1 percent and were the only laggards on the index. Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1316.31 an ounce. [GOL/] [MET/L] On the TSX, 194 issues were higher, while 42 issues declined for a 4.62-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 15.26 million shares traded. The biggest percentage gainers on the TSX were Baytex Energy Corp and Compass Group PLC, rising 4.7 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd fell 2.2 percent, the most on the TSX. The second-biggest decliner was Yamana Gold Inc , down 2.2 percent. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Rexnord Corp , Aurora Cannabis Inc and Black Knight Inc . The TSX posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new low. Across all Canadian issues, there were 34 new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume of 27.45 million shares. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
