Canada's main index gains for first time in six days
(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index bounced back on Friday and was set to break its five-day losing streak, driven by gains in healthcare shares.
** Ten of Canada's 11 major sectors were trading higher, led by healthcare sector's 2.6 percent gain.
** Shares of Aurora Cannabis rose 4 percent, while peer cannabis producer Canopy Growth gained 3.5 percent.
** Lead by bank stocks, the heavy-weight financial sector edged up 0.7 percent, tracking gains in Wall Street lenders following JPMorgan's strong results.
** The Canadian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart as oil and stock prices rebounded, but the loonie was on track to end the week lower after multi-year peaks for Treasury yields contributed to market volatility.
** Adding to the upbeat sentiment was a 1.2 percent rise in shares of energy companies as U.S. crude prices rose 0.9 percent per barrel, while Brent crude added 0.7 percent. [O/R]
** At 9:49 a.m. ET (13:49 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 117.59 points, or 0.77 percent, at 15,434.72.
** Materials was the only sector to decline as gold retreated from two-month highs touched on Thursday. [GOL/]
** Precious metals miner Tahoe Resources fell 4.1 percent, the most on the TSX, followed by New Gold, down 3.7 percent.
** On the TSX, 214 issues were higher, while 33 issues declined for a 6.48-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 32.56 million shares traded.
** The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Element Fleet Management, which rose 6 percent after at least two brokerages upgraded the stock.
** Shopify Inc, which rose 4.7 percent, was the second-biggest gainer on the main index.
** Among the most heavily traded shares by volume were Aurora Cannabis and Aphria.
** The TSX posted two new 52-week highs and three new lows.
** Across all Canadian issues, there were four new 52-week highs and 22 new lows, with total volume touching 51.91 million shares.
(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)