(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index moved higher on Thursday, building on the previous session's gains, boosted by a rise in financial shares.
* At 9:37 a.m. ET (1337 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index was up 34.66 points, or 0.21 percent, at 16,430.95.
* Seven of the index's 11 major sectors were higher.
* The financials sector gained 0.4 percent, led by gains in CI Financial and Sun Life Financial.
* The energy sector dropped 0.1 percent as U.S. crude prices were down 0.8 percent, while Brent crude lost 0.6 percent.
* Rising U.S. crude supply dragged oil lower, but prices continued to find a floor as OPEC-led cuts and freefalling Venezuelan output tightened global supplies.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners, lost 0.2 percent as gold and copper prices fell.
* Data from Statistics Canada showed new home prices in the country were flat in February, for the sixth time in the past seven months.
* On the TSX, 119 issues were higher, while 117 issues declined for a 1.02-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 13.20 million shares traded.
* Top percentage gainers on the TSX were Peyto Exploration & Development Co, which jumped 4 percent, followed by a 2.6 percent rise in Lundin Mining.
* Boralex fell 4 percent, the most on the TSX, and the second biggest decliner was New Gold Inc, down 2.4 percent.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aurora Cannabis, Crescent Point and Royal Nickel.
* The TSX posted seven new 52-week highs and no new low.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 39 new 52-week highs and five new lows, with total volume of 23.50 million shares.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
