NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) -
* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX .GSPTSE rose 44.02 points, or 0.27 percent, to 16,057.03.
* Leading the index were Snc-Lavalin Group Inc SNC.TO , up 6.3 percent, New Gold Inc NGD.TO , up 6 percent, and First Majestic Silver Corp FR.TO , higher by 5.1 percent.
* Lagging shares were Cronos Group Inc CRON.TO , down 7.3 percent, Aphria Inc APHA.TO , down 4.4 percent, and Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO , lower by 3.1 percent.
* On the TSX 112 issues rose and 119 fell as a 0.9-to-1 ratio favored decliners. There were seven new highs and no new lows, with total volume of 219.0 million shares.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Encana Corp ECA.TO , Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO and Aurora Cannabis Inc ACB.TO .
* The TSX's energy group .SPTTEN rose 0.90 points, or 0.6 percent, while the financials sector .SPTTFS added 1.44 points, or 0.5 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 fell 3.28 percent, or $1.88, to $55.38 a barrel. Brent crude LCOc1 fell 3.67 percent, or $2.46, to $64.66. O/R
* The TSX is up 12.1 percent for the year.