CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as rebounding gold and silver prices boost mining stocks

By Utkarsh Hathi and Fergal Smith

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday as precious metals rebounded from their steepest two-day slide in decades, offsetting worries about AI creating more competition for software makers.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE ended up 204.72 points, or 0.6%, at 32,388.60, extending its rebound from a four-week low on Friday.

"Relative to late last week, we'll probably see more stability this week but we may not be out of the woods yet," said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel. "We think the longer-term prospects remain bullish."

The materials group .GSPTTMT, which includes metal mining shares, rose 4.1%. Gold XAU= and silver XAG= prices rebounded sharply after a steep selloff over the previous two sessions, with the bullion on track for its biggest daily rise since November 2008 as bargain‑hunters stepped in amid resilient underlying fundamentals.

The price of oil CLc1 also climbed, settling 1.7% higher at $63.21 a barrel, as concerns rose that talks aimed at de-escalating U.S.-Iran tensions could be disrupted. Energy .SPTTEN advanced 1.9% and the consumer staples sector was up 2.7%.

A significant selloff among North American and European data analytics, professional services and software companies, including Thomson Reuters TRI.TO, deepened with some investors pointing to a recently updated artificial intelligence chatbot by Anthropic as the main culprit.

Shares of Thomson Reuters, which is set to report its fourth quarter earnings results on Thursday, tumbled 15.8%, crimping gains for the industrials sector.

"We're going to really need to see the quarterly results come through and see what the guidance looks like to determine whether or not there is an actual impact on their business," said Mike Archibald, a portfolio manager at AGF Investments.

The technology sector .SPTTTK was down 5%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc SHOP.TO falling 9.7%.