Nov 8 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose for a sixth straight session on Friday, led by a rally in the technology and healthcare sectors, but lower oil prices and weak Canadian jobs and housing permits data limited gains.
* At 10:03 a.m. ET (1503 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 23.42 points, or 0.14%, at 16,829.17.
* Data on Friday showed that the Canadian job market unexpectedly held steady in October, losing 1,800 net positions against a Reuters poll expectation of a gain of 15,900 jobs, while the unemployment rate remained at 5.5%.
* Separate data showed housing starts in the same month fell compared with September, while another set revealed Canadian buildings permits dropped 6.5% in September.
* The technology sector led gains, up 1.2%, followed by the healthcare sector
* The energy sector dropped 1.3% as U.S. crude prices were down 1.7% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 1.9%.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.1% as gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,469.1 an ounce.
* On the TSX, 101 issues were higher, while 126 issues declined for a 1.25-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 37.29 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Stantec Inc , which jumped 5.1%, followed by Enerflex Ltd, which rose 4.5%.
* SNC-Lavalin fell 5.3%, the most on the TSX. The second-biggest decliner was Enerplus Corp, down 4.9%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Enbridge Inc , Harte Gold Corp and Corus Enter B.
* The TSX posted 11 new 52-week highs and two new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 36 new 52-week highs and nine new lows, with total volume of 66.37 million shares. (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
