(Adds details, updates prices)
* TSX up 146.86 points, or 1.15 percent, at 12,960.26
* Nine of TSX's 10 main groups rise
TORONTO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index gained
on Monday, as energy shares rose on a jump in oil prices and
several major banks benefited from investor positioning ahead of
quarterly earnings this week.
The energy group climbed 3.2 percent, with pipeline operator
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO advancing 3.3 percent to C$44.57.
A world oil consumer body said it expected U.S. shale
production to drop and data showed lower rig counts, pushing up
oil prices that have been depressed by excessive supply. O/R
Major oil sands operator Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO gained
2.2 percent to C$33.57 and Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO
rose 2.9 percent to C$28.90.
Other influential gainers included several of the index's
heavyweight banks that are lining up to report quarterly results
later this week.
Bank of Montreal BMO.TO , which will be the first of the
main six banks to report when it releases its results on
Tuesday, gained 1 percent to C$75.14.
Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO was up 1.0 percent to C$52.96,
and Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO advanced 1.1 percent to
C$56.64. The financials group gained 1.0 percent.
At 10:09 a.m. EST (1509 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 146.86 points, or 1.15
percent, at 12,960.26.
Nine of the index's 10 main groups were in positive
territory. A 6.4 percent fall in Valeant Pharmaceuticals (N:VRX)
VRX.TO to C$109.51 pushed the healthcare sector lower.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by almost 7-to-1.
Industrials rose 1.4 percent, while the materials group,
which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer
companies, added 0.7 percent.
Teck Resources Ltd TCKb.TO advanced 17.1 percent to
C$9.54, extending a sharp rally in recent days.
Copper prices CMCU3 gained 1.5 percent to $4,689 a tonne,
while gold futures GCc1 fell 1.9 percent to $1,207.4 an ounce.
MET/L GOL/
However, Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO shares gained 0.6
percent to C$17.37 after the world's largest gold miner said it
would spend about $2 billion on projects in Nevada and Peru for
construction starting in 2019.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were up 7.0 percent to $31.70 a
barrel, while Brent LCOc1 added 5.4 percent to $34.79.