TSX rises on energy boost

Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday as energy stocks gained on the back of a rally in oil prices on US presidential election day.

The energy sector climbed 2% as US crude prices were up 3.6% a barrel, while Brent crude firmed 3.1%.

At 9:38 a.m. ET (14:38 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 111.9 points, or 0.71%, at 15,808.77.

The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Constellation Software Inc and Torex Gold Resources Inc , rising 7.2% and 5.4%, respectively, after reporting upbeat third-quarter results.

The financials sector gained 1.2%. The industrials sector rose 0.7%.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.5% even as gold futures ticked up 0.1% to $1,891.6 an ounce.

On the TSX, 182 issues were higher, while 38 issues declined for a 4.79-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 13.84 million shares traded.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc fell 9.3%, the most on the TSX, after its drug candidate for the treatment of dry eye syndrome did not meet the main goal in a mid-to-late stage study, while the second-biggest decliner was Bausch Health Companies Inc, down 6.7%.

The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bank of Montreal , Nevada Copper Corp, and Aurora Cannabis Inc.

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

Across all Canadian issues there were eight new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume of 25.11 million shares.