Toronto market rises in thin trade as resource shares rally

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, led by energy shares, as investors returned from a long weekend to buy riskier assets that have been battered by concerns over a global economic slowdown.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 167.50 points, or 0.9%, at 19,028.86. Trading volumes were lower than usual as the United States celebrated the Fourth of July holiday.

The TSX was closed on Friday for Canada Day. It fell 13.8% in the second quarter, its biggest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2020, on fears that harsh steps by major central banks to tame inflation will cause an economic downturn.

Consumer inflation expectations surged in Canada, hitting fresh highs in the short term and up "significantly" over the long term, a Bank of Canada survey showed on Monday, bolstering calls for a very rare 75 basis point rate increase at a policy decision next week.

The energy sector gained 2.7% as crude oil rose more than 2% on concerns of tight supply amid lower OPEC output, unrest in Libya and sanctions on Russia.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 2.2%.

Together, energy and materials account for 30% of the market capitalization on the Toronto exchange.

Industrials ended 0.9% higher.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)