Feb 25 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Monday amid renewed hopes that the United States and China would soon resolve their trade dispute, after President Donald Trump said he would delay raising tariffs on Chinese imports.
* The announcement was the clearest sign yet that the two sides are closing in on a deal to end their prolonged trade spat. Trump also said he would hold a summit with China to sign a final trade deal, a day after signaling that he planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to conclude an agreement. At 9:48 a.m. ET (14:48 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 42.83 points, or 0.27 percent, at 16,055.84.
* Only the utilities .GSPTTUT and healthcare .GSPTTHC sectors were trading in the red.
* Despite a 1.8 percent fall in crude oil prices, the energy sector .SPTTEN edged up 0.2 percent. O/R
* Among stocks, Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO fell 0.8 percent after if offered to buy U.S. rival Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) NEM.N for nearly $18 billion in stock, in a hostile takeover that seeks to combine the world's two largest gold producers. The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Enerflex Ltd EFX.TO , which rose 5.4 percent. This was followed by Cott Corp BCB.TO , which gained 3.4 percent.
* Cronos Group Inc CRON.TO fell 6 percent, the most on the TSX, after Jefferies started coverage of stock with "underperform" rating.
* The second biggest decliner was cannabis producer Aphria Inc APHA.TO , down 3.8 percent.
* On the TSX, 133 issues were higher, while 99 issues declined for a 1.34-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with traded volume touching 26.47 million shares.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO , Nemaska Lithium Inc NMX.TO and GeneNews Ltd GEN.TO .
* The TSX posted five new 52-week highs and no new low.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 34 new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume touching 49.44 million shares.