May 14 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday supported by material stocks, as gold prices gained, with the dollar pulling back from one-week highs after U.S. Federal Reserve officials downplayed inflation concerns.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.0% as gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,837.4 an ounce.
* At 9:38 a.m. ET (13:38 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 93.43 points, or 0.49%, at 19,229.24.
* Canadian factory sales rose 3.5% in March from February, led by motor vehicle, petroleum and coal, and food product industries, Statistics Canada said.
* Canadian National Railway Co fell 3.3% after it beat Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd with a $33.6 billion acquisition offer for U.S. railway operator Kansas City Southern .
* The energy sector climbed 1.9% as U.S. crude prices were up 1.6% a barrel, while Brent crude added 1.6%.
* The financials sector gained 0.6%, while the industrials sector fell 0.5%.
* On the TSX, 175 issues were higher, while 47 issues declined for a 3.72-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 19.79 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were SNC Lavalin , which jumped 11.5% after strong quarterly results.
* AcuityAds Holdings Inc was the second largest percentage gainer, rising 6.4%.
* Aurora Cannabis fell 7.8%, the most on the TSX, after disappointing quarterly results.
* The second biggest decliner was Aritzia Inc, down 4.7%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Manulife Financial Corp, Enbridge Inc and Tetra Bio-Pharma.
* The TSX posted 13 new 52-week highs and no new low.
* Across all Canadian issues there were 29 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows, with total volume of 34.84 million shares. (REporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
