April 16 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark index was slightly higher on Monday, helped by industrial shares and waning fears of an escalating conflict in Syria following the weekend's U.S.-led air strikes.
* At 9:53 a.m. ET (1353 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 12.05 points, or 0.08 percent, to 15,286.02. Eight of the 10 main index sectors were higher.
* Saturday's strikes marked the biggest intervention by Western countries against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his ally Russia, which is facing further economic sanctions over its role in the conflict. The United States, Mexico and Canada will hasten NAFTA talks in a push to reach a deal in the coming weeks, Mexico's president said on Saturday. The industrial sector advanced 0.5 percent, boosted by a 0.8 percent rise in shares of Canadian National Railway CNR.TO .
* The energy sector was down 0.9 percent as oil prices slipped after U.S. drilling activity rose and tensions in the Middle East eased. O/R
* Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO and Suncor Energy SU.TO dipped about 1 percent and were the biggest drags on the energy sector.
* Share of Vermilion Energy Inc VET.TO fell about 3 percent after the oil and gas producer said it would buy rival Spartan Energy Corp SPE.TO in a C$1.40 billion deal. Shares of Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Canada KML.TO rose 0.8 percent. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday offered financial aid to ensure the Trans Mountain line project went ahead in a move to end an escalating crisis over the oil pipeline. The TSX posted one new 52-week highs and two new lows. Across all Canadian issues there were three new 52-week highs and eight new lows.
* The biggest percentage gainer on the TSX was medical marijuana producer Aphria Inc APH.TO , which rose 7.5 percent after reporting quarterly results. The biggest decliner was Torex Gold Resources TXG.TO , down 5.4 percent.
* Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume were Aurora Cannabis ACB.TO , Neovasc Inc NVCN.TO , and Aphria Inc APH.TO .
* Volume on the TSX index was 8.02 million shares, while the total volume on Monday was 14.32 million shares.