Oct 9 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was set to snap a two-day losing streak on Wednesday, as latest media reports raised hopes that the United States and China would make progress in resolving their prolonged trade war during this week’s high-level talks.
* China was open to a partial trade deal with the U.S., a Bloomberg report said, despite the recent blacklisting Chinese technology firms.
* Adding to the upbeat mood, was a report by the Financial Times that Beijing was offering to increase its annual purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
* The world’s top two economies are scheduled to begin their high-level trade talks on Thursday.
* At 9:41 a.m. ET (13:41 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.4 points, or 0.35%, at 16,351.35.
* Eight of the index’s 11 major sectors were trading higher.
* The energy sector climbed 0.4% as U.S. crude prices were up 1.7% a barrel, while Brent crude added 1.6%.
* The financials sector gained 0.3%, and the industrials sector rose 0.5%.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.1% as gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,505.8 an ounce.
* On the TSX, 162 issues were higher, while 61 issues declined for a 2.66-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 9.98 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Encana Corp , which climbed 2.4%, and Aurora Cannabis Inc, which rose 2.2%.
* Exchange Income Corp fell 4.3%, the most on the TSX, while the second biggest decliner was Pason Systems Inc , down 1.8%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd and Aurora Cannabis.
* The TSX posted four new 52-week highs and no new low.
* Across all Canadian issues there were seven new 52-week highs and five new lows, with total volume of 19.16 million shares. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
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