CANADA STOCKS-Toronto index rises as energy, financials help

*Toronto stock market finishes 0.5 percent higher

*Gains come even as oil drops to 22-month low

*Economic pall continues to hang over investors

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By Wojtek Dabrowski

TORONTO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The malaise hanging over global equity markets eased on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, as a volatile session ended with the benchmark index nosing into positive territory as energy and financial stocks edged higher.

The session finished with a slight gain, which pales in comparison to the magnitude of losses experienced by the S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE since the start of the year, even as investor remained focus on the global financial crisis and the related fallout.

The gains made by energy and financials were offset by a decline in the materials sector, which sagged as the price of gold moved lower.

An upbeat earnings report by computer maker Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N) also boosted the mood of U.S. investors, driving the Dow Jones industrial average higher and soothing fears of deepening economic gloom at least for now.

"It comes back to the same theme that there's no safe haven in this market and there's really is no good news to speak of," said Elvis Picardo, analyst and strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver.

"Anything that's even remotely negative or perceived as being negative can send a stock down very quickly," he said.

Among stocks making gains, insurer Manulife (MFC.TO) jumped 6.2 percent to close at C$22.36 and engineering group SNC Lavalin (SNC.TO) added 5.4 percent to finish at C$31.42. Encana (ECA.TO) gained 2.1 percent to close at C$52.59.

Half of the 10 main index subgroups finished higher, including the energy sector, even as U.S. crude fell to a 22-month low over economic concerns.

Energy gained 0.52 percent, while financials added 0.97 percent. The heavyweight materials group shed 1.01 percent as gold gave up ground.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 40.28 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 8,835.73, rebounding from a session low of 8,659.26 and illustrating the market's high degree of volatility.

Big losers in Tuesday's trade included private-equity group Onex Corp (OCX.TO), which fell 9.1 percent to close at C$16.60 and Power Financial Corp (PWF.TO), which sagged 4.3 percent to end at C$27.74.