(Adds details from early trade, updates prices)
* TSX rises 129.80 points, or 0.93 percent, to 14,031.57
* Nine of the TSX's 10 main groups gain
TORONTO, June 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose
on Monday, with financial and energy stocks leading a broad
rally as investors returned to equity markets on rising
expectations that Britain will vote to remain in the European
Union later this week.
In early trade North American indices lagged the sharp gains
of Europe's markets, which had been stung by worries that a
British exit, or Brexit, would prove economically calamitous.
At 10:20 a.m. EDT (1420 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE rose 129.80 points, or 0.93
percent, to 14,031.57. Nine of its 10 main groups gained.
The most influential movers on the index included its
biggest bank by market capitalization, Royal Bank of Canada
RY.TO , which rose 1.4 percent to C$78.69, and pipeline company
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO , which added 1.8 percent to C$53.62.
The financials group gained 1.2 percent and the energy group
climbed 1.8 percent. Combined, the two groups account for 56
percent of the index's overall weight.
RBC plans further expansion in the United States following
its $5 billion acquisition of Los Angeles-based City National in
November, its chief executive said on Friday.
Gold miners were among the biggest drags, as the precious
metal fell with other perceived safe-haven assets after polls
suggesting Britain's "Remain" campaign had regained some
momentum ahead of Thursday's referendum. GOL/
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.4 percent.
Kinross Gold Corp K.TO shed 4.8 percent to C$6.12. The
miner suspended activity at its Tasiast mine in Mauritania after
the West African country ordered expatriates whose work permits
were invalid to stop working, a company source said.
OpenText Corp OTC.TO rose 1.9 percent to C$76.65 after the
business software maker said it would buy HP Inc's HPQ.N
customer management software business for $315 million.
The value of Canadian wholesale trade rose far less than
expected in April as activity increased in just three sectors,
including the food and beverage industry, data from Statistics
Canada showed on Monday. ECONCA
Commodities excluding gold were broadly supportive for the
Canadian market, with U.S. crude CLc1 prices up 1.7 percent to
$48.79 a barrel and Brent LCOc1 adding 1.7 percent to $50.01.
Copper prices CMCU3 advanced 1.4 percent to $4,617 a tonne,
and gold futures GCc1 fell 0.8 percent to $1,282 an ounce.
O/R MET/L GOL/
Advancers outnumbered decliners by more than 5-to-1.