(Adds details on sectors and stocks throughout, updates prices)
* TSX up 18.47 points, or 0.13 percent, to 14,082.01
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups were higher
TORONTO, June 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged
higher on Thursday as financials firmed, while losses for oil
weighed on the energy sector after a group of major oil
producers left their output policy unchanged.
At 11:06 a.m. EDT (1506 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE rose 18.47 points, or 0.13
percent, to 14,082.01. Seven of the index's 10 main groups were
higher.
Shares of Bank of Montreal BMO.TO rose 0.2 percent to
C482.62. The bank said it would acquire Greene Holcomb Fisher, a
U.S.-based merger and acquisition advisory firm, in a push to
strengthen its investment banking business in the United States,
particularly in the Midwest.
Canadian Western Bank CWB.TO reported a 37 percent decline
in second-quarter profit, reflecting a ramp-up in funds set
aside to cover loans to oil & gas companies that have turned
sour amid a prolonged slump in oil prices.
Still, Canadian Western Bank's shares rose 0.2 percent to
C$25.87, while the overall financials group advanced 0.3
percent.
The consumer staples group rose 0.4 percent and healthcare
stocks advanced 0.8 percent, led by a 3 percent gain for Valeant
Pharmaceuticals International Inc VRX.TO to C$40.08.
Oil prices fell after the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries ended its meeting without setting a ceiling
for its production. U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 0.5
percent to $48.77 a barrel.
Energy stocks dipped 0.2 percent, although some losses were
pared as oil rebounded from its lowest levels of the day.