TSX rises with miners; energy stocks drag with lower oil

By Alastair Sharp and Fergal Smith

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index made a small gain on Wednesday as losses for energy stocks on a renewed fall in oil prices offset gains for base metal miners and consumer stocks.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended up 17.36 points, or 0.12 percent, at 14,366.46.

Eight of the index's 10 main groups rose, with the energy group retreating 0.7 percent. Oil fell about 3 percent for a second straight session amid concerns that rebalancing the global oil market will take longer than originally envisaged. [O/R]

The financial sector also moved slightly lower, as investors took a cautious view on global economic prospects as central banks struggle to stimulate growth, triggering a rise in bond yields and sparking a bout of risk-off trading.

"We now seem to be getting to a phase where some risk factors are weighing on investors' minds," said Elvis Picardo, a strategist at Global Securities, citing a recent jump in bond yields, the November U.S. presidential election and the Federal reserve's on-again, off-again U.S. rate-hike signals.

"I think the correction has more room to run," he added. "All in all I think the scenario doesn't look especially rosy for the TSX."

Teck Resources Ltd (TCKb.TO) jumped 7.1 percent to C$22.77. CIBC raised its price target on the diversified miner's stock to C$28 from C$23.

Shares in convenience store operator Alimentation Couche Tard Inc (ATDb.TO) gained 1.7 percent to C$64.06.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.5 percent, while the smaller consumer staples group rose 0.9 percent and consumer discretionary names gained 0.3 percent.

The most influential weights included Cenovus Energy Inc (Toronto:CVE.TO - News), which fell 1.9 percent to C$17.77, and Encana Corp (Toronto:ECA.TO - News), which lost 1.7 percent to C$12.43.

The U.S. economy looks set to accelerate over the rest of the year, a senior Bank of Canada official said on Wednesday, a potentially encouraging sign for Canada just a week after the central bank warned of risks to domestic growth.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Tuesday praised Canada's three-pronged approach of taking monetary, fiscal and structural action to avert the risk of recession as an example to which others could aspire.

(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and James Dalgleish)