TORONTO: Canada's main stock index rose modestly on Wednesday, supported by gains in Manulife Financial and the banking sector, as well as a bounce-back in shares of cannabis companies.
At 10:04 a.m. ET (15:04 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index edged up 25.58 points, or 0.17 percent, at 15,389.51.
The Toronto market was also following a cautiously upbeat tone on Wall Street after a global equities rout on Monday.
Cannabis producers were among the most actively traded, including Canopy Growth, which was among the biggest advancers on the index, up 6.7 percent at C$30.73.
Marijuana shares had come under pressure in recent weeks but have begun to perk back up. Aphria rose 4.9 percent to C$17.45, while Aurora Cannabis rose 7.1 percent to C$12.35.
Canada is in the process of legalizing recreational marijuana this year. The country's health minister said on Tuesday that cannabis will only go on sale a few months after it is legalized to give the provincial retail system time to start working properly.
Manulife Financial rose 0.7 percent to C$25.27 after sources said it was weighing the sale of a number of US insurance assets.
The financials group gained 0.2 percent. Toronto Dominion Bank rose 0.3 percent to C$71.89, while Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.2 percent to C$78.32.
The TSX posted 1 new 52-week highs and 8 new lows. Across all Canadian issues there were 6 new 52-week highs and 18 new lows.
Volume on the TSX index was 37.45 million shares.
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