(Adds details, updates prices)
* TSX up 104.21 points, or 0.8 percent, at 13,122.14.
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups were higher
TORONTO, March 3 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hit a
fresh 2016 high on Thursday as energy stocks gained despite a
slip in oil prices and financial and mining shares also rose.
The index pushed above 13,000 for the first time this year
on Wednesday as investors shook off worries about global growth
amid upbeat data from major economies and signs of a rebound in
commodity prices.
Among the most influential gainers was Canadian Natural
Resources Ltd CNQ.TO , which advanced 8.3 percent to C$32.66,
even as it cut its 2016 capital expenditure and reported a sharp
fall in profit.
With its second straight day of increases, the stock reached
its highest since early December.
The energy group climbed 1.6 percent, though oil prices
dipped after ballooning U.S. crude inventories and lack of
progress on talk to control supply overshadowed the bullish
sentiment that has built up this week. O/R
At 10:29 a.m. EST (1529 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 104.21 points, or 0.8
percent, at 13,122.14.
Eight of its 10 main groups were positive, with advancers
outnumbering decliners by more than three to one.
The financials group gained 0.8 percent, while materials,
which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer
companies, added 1.6 percent.
Goldcorp Inc G.TO rose 4.4 percent to C$20.15, and Bank of
Nova Scotia BNS.TO advanced 0.9 percent to C$58.26.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc SNC.TO was up 1.9 percent to C$44.89
after posting a better-than-expected adjusted fourth-quarter
profit and said it saw profit growth at its core engineering and
construction business in 2016.
Industrials rose 0.5 percent.
On the negative side, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) International
Inc VRX.TO fell 1.8 percent to C$89.15 after the embattled
drugmaker said a senior executive had resigned, not been asked
to leave.