* TSX rises 40.37 points, or 0.26 percent, to 15,292.57
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups climb
TORONTO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose for the third straight day on Monday, led by the industrial and materials groups, while shares of BlackBerry Ltd climbed as it opened an autonomous driving research center.
At 11:35 a.m. EST (1635 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 40.37 points, or 0.26 percent, to 15,292.57.
Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups gained ground as investors turned attention to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech at the University of Baltimore, less than a week after the U.S. central bank raised benchmark interest rates.
The index fell the most in one month on Wednesday when the Fed raised rates for the first time in a year.
The most influential movers on the index included Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO , which rose 0.5 percent to C$44.86, and Canadian National Railway CNR.TO , which advanced 0.6 percent to C$90.00
Industrials gained 0.5 percent, while financials firmed 0.1 percent.
Brazil will challenge government funding for Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO at the World Trade Organization (WTO), escalating the latest trade spat between the Canadian jet maker and its Brazilian rival Embraer SA EMBR3.SA . Bombardier's shares rose more than 5 percent for the second straight day, up 5.9 percent at C$2.17.
Toronto-based insurance group Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd FFH.TO has agreed to buy Swiss insurer Allied World Assurance Company Holdings AG AWH.N for $4.9 billion in cash and stock, the companies said on Sunday. of Fairfax fell 2 percent to C$601.95.
BlackBerry Ltd BB.TO opened an autonomous driving research center, trying to make itself an indispensable under-the-hood piece of the automotive industry's weaponry in the self-driving vehicle arms race. of the Ontario-based smartphone pioneer rose 3.7 percent to C$10.48, while CGI Group Inc GIBa.TO climbed 1.8 percent to C$64.14 and the overall information technology group gained 1.2 percent.
Healthcare advanced nearly 5 percent, with Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) Inc VRX.TO jumping 5.2 percent to C$19.82.
Energy was little changed as oil seesawed.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 0.3 percent at $51.74 a barrel. O/R
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.7 percent, with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd AEM.TO rising 4 percent at C$51.71.
Copper producer First Quantum Minerals Ltd FM.TO fell 1.3 percent to C$14.09.
The price of copper CMCU3 slid to a four-week low as inventories showed their biggest one-day rise in 15 years. MET/L
Gold futures GCc1 rose 0.3 percent to $1,138.6 an ounce. GOL/