* TSX up 213.19 points, or 1.52 percent, to 14,277.73
* Index touched its highest since June 8 at 14,279.24
* All of the TSX's 10 main groups were higher
TORONTO, July 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index
rallied to a nearly four-week high on Monday, led by mining
stocks as gold and silver climbed, while financial and energy
stocks also advanced.
Gains for the index follow a 1.2 percent advance last week
and a 4.2 percent gain for the second quarter. The market was
closed on Friday for Canada Day.
U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Independence Day
holiday.
Silver Wheaton Corp SLW.TO rallied 6.2 percent to C$32.28
and Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO climbed 5.1 percent to C$28.98,
while the overall materials group, which includes precious and
base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 4.7 percent.
Gold rose as political uncertainty following Britain's vote
to leave the European Union supported prices after a burst of
short-covering activity in China had pushed them back toward
last week's two-year high. GOL/
Silver also benefited from a surge of buying in China which
at one point took it up more than 7 percent, breaking above $21
an ounce for the first time in two years.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.7 percent, while silver XAG= was
up 3.5 percent.
At 10:28 a.m. EDT (1428 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE rose 213.19 points, or 1.52
percent, to 14,277.73. It touched its highest since June 8 at
14,279.24.
All of the index's 10 main groups were higher.
Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO rose 0.9 percent to C$76.99,
while Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO was up nearly 3
percent at C$44.02. The overall financials group advanced 0.8
percent.
Industrials climbed 1.7 percent, including gains for railway
stocks, and energy stocks advanced 1.3 percent.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were unchanged at $48.99 a barrel.
Canadian business sentiment remained subdued in the second
quarter, as the drag of cheaper oil prices and modest domestic
demand canceled out the boost from foreign demand, the Bank of
Canada said on Monday.
The pace of growth in Canada's manufacturing sector stepped
back in June as measures of output, new business and employment
all fell, data showed on Monday, the latest sign Canada's
economy is struggling to gain momentum.