March 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to its highest level in five months on Friday, led by the material sector, as investor sentiment was lifted by reports that Beijing and Washington had made more progress in their trade talks.
* Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke by telephone with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, with the two sides making further substantive progress on trade talks, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. At 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 74 points, or 0.45 percent, at 16160.88 .
* 10 of the index's 11 major sectors were higher, led by the materials sector .GSPTTMT , which rose on higher gold and silver prices.
* Boosting the sector were Fortuna Silver Mines Inc FVI.TO and MAG Silver Corp MAG.TO , which rose the most on TSX as silver prices edged up on the day. MET/L
* The financials sector .SPTTFS and industrials sector .GSPTTIN gained between 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent.
* The energy sector .SPTTEN was the only loser on the index as oil prices came off 2019 highs. O/R
* On the TSX, 148 issues were higher, while 79 issues declined for a 1.87-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 160.31 million shares traded.
* Stella Jones SJ.TO fell 3.5 percent, the most on the TSX, after company missed its Q4 earnings estimates. The second biggest decliner was Precision Drillng Corp PD.TO , down 3.5 percent after Jefferies downgraded the stock. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO , Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO and Enbridge Inc ENB.TO .
* The TSX posted six new 52-week highs and no new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues there were 49 new 52-week highs and two new lows, with total volume of 173.73 million shares.