(Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose on Monday, led by gains in financial stocks ahead of a key report that could help guide Bank of Canada’s interest rate policy, and after officials in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration highlighted that the trade dispute with China could be resolved through talks.
* At 9:37 a.m. ET (1337 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 26.83 points, or 0.18 percent, to 15,234.24.
* The Bank of Canada will release its business outlook report, based on a survey of about 100 companies, at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
* The central bank has raised interest rates three times since July and money markets see a 75 percent chance of another hike by July.
* Mexico’s economy minister on Monday said he saw an 80 percent chance of a new NAFTA deal by the first week of May.
* Investor concerns over an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China eased after Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview on Sunday the ongoing spat “might turn out to be very benign”.
* The financial sector, which accounts for more than a third of TSX’s weight, rose 0.3 percent, boosted by gains in big banks.
* The materials sector declined 0.4 percent as gold prices retreated after rising on Friday. [GOL/]
* Kinder Morgan Canada tumbled 10 percent after the oil producer on Sunday suspended most work on a C$7.4 billion ($5.8 billion) oil pipeline expansion that has become the focus of protests.
* Crescent Point Energy rose 3.2 percent after private investment firm Cation Capital said it would nominate four candidates to the oil producer’s board.
* The TSX posted no new 52-week highs and two new lows. Across all Canadian issues there were two new 52-week highs and three new lows.
* Baytex Energy Co was the biggest percentage gainer on the TSX with a 2.9 percent increase, while Kinder Morgan (KML.TO) was the largest decliner.
* Neovasc Inc (NVCN.TO), Les Ressources Yorbeau (YRB.TO) and Kinross Gold (K.TO) were among the most active Canadian stocks by volume.
* Volume on the TSX index was 10.82 million shares, while total volume on Monday was 23.59 million shares.
Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
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