Oct 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday, buoyed by energy stocks as oil prices rose on output shutdowns in the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Delta and potential supply disruptions in Norway.
* The energy sector .SPTTEN climbed 1.2% as U.S. crude CLc1 prices gained 2.6% a barrel and Brent crude LCOc1 added 2.6%. O/R
* At 9:38 a.m. ET (13:38 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 70.16 points, or 0.43%, at 16,498.46.
* The nation's housing starts fell by more than expected in September compared with the previous month as groundbreaking tumbled on multiple unit urban homes, data from the national housing agency showed. The financials sector .SPTTFS gained 0.1%, while the industrials sector .GSPTTIN rose 0.2%.
* The materials sector .GSPTTMT , which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.2%.
* On the TSX, 192 issues were higher, while 22 declined for a 8.73-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 9.29 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainer was Bausch Health Companies Inc BHC.TO , which jumped 7.4% after the drugmaker estimated Q3 revenue to be more than $2.1 billion, above analysts' expectation of $1.97 billion.
* Torex Gold Resources Inc TXG.TO followed with a 6.3% increase after the gold miner delivered its second-highest quarter of production on record.
* Tourmaline Oil Corp TOU.TO fell 1%, the most on the TSX, and the second biggest decliner was Richelieu Hardware Ltd RCH.TO , down 0.8%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Denison Mines Corp DML.TO , Vivo Cannabis Inc VIVO.TO and D-BOX Technologies Inc DBO.TO .
* The TSX posted seven new 52-week highs and no new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 17 new 52-week highs and two new lows, with total volume of 21.92 million shares.