(Updates prices)
* TSX up up 45.57 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,425.18
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups move higher
TORONTO, March 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index began recovering on Wednesday from a 2017 low hit in the previous session, helped by gains for its heavyweight natural resource sectors as commodity prices rose.
The index's energy sector climbed 1.7 percent as oil prices pulled out of a dive, with the most influential gainers including Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO , which rose 4.2 percent to C$16.71, and Encana Corp ECA.TO , up 5.3 percent to C$14.64.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.6 percent as higher prices for copper and other industrial metals boosted base metal miners. Gold producers also gained as bullion prices inched up.
Shares of several major banks slipped as the country's financial watchdog said it will review business practices at federally regulated institutions following allegations that they sold products to consumers without obtaining their consent. News reported last week that customers of Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO were moved to higher-fee accounts or had their overdraft and credit card limits increased without their knowledge. On Wednesday CBC said employees at the nation's other biggest banks had also come forward, saying they had engaged in similar practices.
While Toronto-Dominion Bank shares were virtually unchanged, Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO was down 1 percent to C$78.27. Bank of Montreal also lost 1 percent to C$101.49, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM.TO fell 0.7 percent to $118.14.
At 12:05 p.m. ET (1605 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 45.57 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,425.18. Seven of its 10 main groups rose.
The index had its lowest close of the year on Tuesday.
Shares in convenience store operator Alimentation Couche Tard Inc ATDb.TO fell for a second day, as several banks cut their price targets on the company following disappointing quarterly earnings.