(Updates prices)
* TSX up 188.58 points, or 1.5 percent, at 12,743.56
* Nine of the TSX's 10 main groups rise
TORONTO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose
on Wednesday, helped by higher prices for oil and other
commodities and by a surge in shares of Bombardier after the
planemaker said Air Canada planned to buy 75 of its CSeries
jets.
Bombardier BBDb.TO advanced 15.6 percent to C$1.04. The
company also said it would slash its workforce by about 7,000
over the next two years, with new hiring focused on the CSeries
commercial jet program.
Air Canada AC.TO declined 9.9 percent to C$7.58. It
reported a widening net loss and said its costs would fall this
year if the Canadian dollar remains unchanged for 2015 levels.
The financials group gained 1.1 percent, extending a rally
after falling sharply earlier in the month.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO advanced 2.7
percent to C$42.35. The infrastructure investor is planning a
fresh $6.4 billion bid for Australian port and rail firm Asciano
AIO.AX with Qatar's sovereign fund, two sources told Reuters.
At 10:41 a.m. EST (1541 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 188.58 points, or 1.5
percent, at 12,743.56.
Nine of the index's 10 main groups were in positive
territory, with telecoms down 0.3 percent.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by more than 6-to-1.
The most influential movers on the index included Royal Bank
of Canada RY.TO , which rose 1.2 percent to C$70.25, and
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO , which advanced 5.9 percent
to C$29.50.
The energy group climbed 4 percent, as oil prices rose on
hopes that major producing countries would seal an agreement on
freezing production following a key ministerial meeting in Iran,
even though Tehran signaled a tough line. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were up 2.8 percent to $29.84 a
barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 added 3.5 percent to
$33.29. O/R
Industrials rose 1.6 percent while the materials group,
which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer
companies, added 1.4 percent.
Gold futures GCc1 rose 0.3 percent to $1,211 an ounce and
copper prices CMCU3 advanced 0.4 percent to $4,573.5 a tonne.
GOL/ MET/L
Shares in e-commerce company Shopify gained 7.3 percent to
C$30.55 after posting strong quarterly results and 2016
forecasts.