CANADA STOCKS-TSX edges higher as cannabis, commodity stocks climb

By Avinash P

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Toronto's main equity index edged higher on Wednesday as cannabis stocks extended a rally on expectations of easing U.S. curbs, while higher commodity prices supported energy and mining firms.

The S&P/TSX Composite index .GSPTSE rose 0.14% to 31,309.56 points by 10:21 a.m. ET, on track to snap a three-day streak of losses.

Cannabis firm Curaleaf CURA.TO jumped 9.8% to its highest since May 2024 after a CNN report said U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday reclassifying the drug to ease federal restrictions.

Other cannabis stocks Canopy Growth WEED.TO and Aurora Cannabis ACB.TO jumped 12.6% and 6.7%, respectively.

Energy stocks .SPTTEN rebounded as oil prices LCOc1, CLc1 rose almost 2% after Trump ordered a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. O/R

The index had its worst day since early April in the prior session.

"We've seen a bit of consolidation in the last three days, but potentially as we enter the more favorable seasonality into the year-end, we're going to see some risk-on sentiment," said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones.

The TSX has climbed about 27% this year, on track for its biggest jump since 2009. With two weeks remaining this year, investors are looking for fresh catalysts, including domestic October retail sales data on Friday.

Materials .GSPTTMT and gold .SPTTGD subindexes rose 1.7% each after silver XAG= surged past $65 an ounce to record highs and gold XAU= advanced after softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data fueled bets of more U.S. rate cuts.

The domestic economy has proven to be resilient in the face of U.S.-Canada trade tensions, with the Bank of Canada holding its key policy rate steady at 2.25% last week.

Among other share moves, Bird Construction BDT.TO rose 8.4% after the construction firm was awarded projects worth $1.2 billion.