(Adds details on stocks and sectors, updates prices)
* TSX rises 51.04 points, or 0.35 percent, to 14,648.99
* Half of the TSX's 10 main groups move higher
TORONTO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index moved slightly higher on Thursday as gold miners bucked bullion's fall after an August sell-off and investors cheered the expansion of Tim Hortons into Britain.
The coffee and doughnut chain's owner Restaurant Brands International Inc QSR.TO was among the most influential movers on the index, up 2.2 percent to C$63.73.
Gold miners also gained, even as the price of gold fell, after having lost significant ground over the course of August, with Barrick Gold ABX.TO adding 2.5 percent to C$22.84.
At 10:14 a.m. EDT (1414 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 51.04 points, or 0.35 percent, to 14,648.99.
The global gold mining sub-sector .SPTTGD had lost some 20 percent of its value in August, while spot gold was down around 3 percent over the same period.
The energy group fell 0.5 percent as rising supply weighed on crude prices. O/R The financials group slipped 0.3 percent.
Dollarama Inc DOL.TO rose 0.7 percent to C$97.57 after the dollar store operator reported a higher-than-expected profit. in Canadian Western Bank CWB.TO gained 1.8 percent to C$26.81 despite a drop in third-quarter earnings and a warning that lower crude prices will keep its oil and gas loan portfolio under strain in the energy-producing province of Alberta. in First Majestic Silver Corp FR.TO declined 5.1 percent to C$15 after a hedge fund disclosed a short position in the stock. materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.2 percent.
Both Potash Corp POT.TO and Agrium Inc AGU.TO slipped after two days of gains tied to their announcement of talks to merge. Farmers plan to pressure regulators to protect their interests in any deal. Corp declined 0.8 percent to C$23.56 and Agrium slipped 1.3 percent to C$124.69.
Half of the index's 10 main groups were in positive territory.
Canadian manufacturing cooled in August to its lowest pace of growth in six months as new orders slowed, a survey of the sector showed. signed 56 deals with China worth more than C$1.2 billion ($915 million) during a visit to the country by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.