TSX rises as US tech stock rout cools

Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, taking cues from Wall Street, as heavyweight US tech stocks gained following a plunge in the previous session that was sparked by a sell-off.

At 9:50 a.m. ET (13:50 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 100.68 points, or 0.62%, at 16,286.

A wave of consolidation is underway in Canada's Montney oil and gas region as small companies struggling to weather the impact of coronavirus on the energy industry sell their holdings in what just a few years ago was a booming patch.

The energy sector climbed 0.5% even as US crude prices were down 0.2% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 0.8%.

The financials sector gained 0.5%, while the industrials sector rose 0.7%.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, was up 1.6% even as gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,949.5 an ounce.

On the TSX, 156 issues were higher, while 55 issues declined for a 2.84-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 16.03 million shares traded.

The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Teck Resources, which jumped 8.2% while Empire Company rose 6.3%.

Pot producer Aurora Cannabis fell 2.8%, the most on the TSX, while the second biggest decliner was Pason Systems , down 1.5%.

The most heavily traded shares by volume were Teck Resources, Freegold Ventures and Air Canada .

The TSX posted one new 52-week high and no new lows.

Across all Canadian issues, there were five new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume of 30.92 million shares.