Jan 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hovered near an all-time high on Friday after the World Health Organisation tempered fears over the coronavirus outbreak in China.
* At 9:48 a.m. ET (1448 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 1.98 points, or 0.01%, at 17,623.76.
* World stocks got a lift after World Health Organization labeled the viral infection an emergency for China, but not yet for the rest of the world. MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada on Wednesday during a ceremony at the White House, an administration official told Reuters. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaces NAFTA, still needs to be formally approved by Canada.
* Industrial and technology stocks were leading gains among major sectors.
* The energy sector .SPTTEN dropped 1% as U.S. crude CLc1 prices fell 2% a barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 lost 1.9%. O/R
* The financials sector .SPTTFS slipped 0.1%.
* On the TSX, 138 issues were higher, while 90 issues declined for a 1.53-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 17.45 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Ballard Power Systems Inc BLDP.TO and Real Matters Inc REAL.TO , which rose 5% and 2.9%, respectively.
* Meg Energy Corp MEG.TO fell 3.1%, the most on the TSX. The second-biggest decliner was Aphria Inc CPG.TO , down 2.9%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aphria, Encana Corp ECA.TO and Burcon NutraScience Corp BU.TO .
* The TSX posted 23 new 52-week highs and two new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 91 new 52-week highs and four new lows, with total volume of 32.64 million shares.