(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday as China said it had decided to cancel tariffs scheduled to take effect on Sunday and that both sides have agreed on the context of the first phase of a trade deal.
At 09:47 a.m. ET (14:47 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 11.06 points, or 0.07%, at 16,957.96.
Increasing optimism about a trade truce has fueled a rally in global equities. TSX was less than 1% below the record high it hit last month.
Six of the index's 11 major sectors were higher, led by 1% gain in healthcare.
The energy sector gained 0.3% as U.S. crude prices were up 0.4% a barrel, while Brent crude added 0.7%. [O/R]
The heavyweight financials sector gained 0.3%.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.3%. [GOL/] [MET/L]
On the TSX, 133 issues were higher, while 88 issues declined for a 1.51-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 25.77 million shares traded.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were software maker Enghouse Systems, which jumped 13.1% after reporting fourth quarter results, and Turquoise Hill Resources, which rose 12.6%.
Alacer Gold Corp fell 2.7%, the most on the TSX.
First Quantum Minerals dropped 2.2% as the miner began arbitration proceedings against Zambian state miner ZCCM-IH to try to resolve a dispute over a money transfer to the parent company of Kansanshi Mining, which is majority-owned by the Toronto-listed group.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aurora Cannabis, Royal Nickel and Valeura Energy.
The TSX posted seven new 52-week highs and no new lows.
Across all Canadian issues, there were 48 new 52-week highs and four new lows, with total volume of 44.18 million shares.