* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 7.44 points, or 0.05 percent, at 16,103.51.

* Half of the index's 10 main groups were in positive territory, with advancers just outnumbering decliners overall.

* The energy group, which accounts for almost a fifth of the index's weight, climbed 0.6 percent, with Suncor Energy Inc (>> Suncor Energy Inc.) up 1 percent to C$44.69 as oil prices rose.

* Brent crude rallied more than U.S. oil after the shutdown of the pipeline that carries the biggest of the five North Sea crude oil streams that underpin the benchmark.

* Potash Corp (>> Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc) was up 1.9 percent to C$24.78 and Agrium Inc (>> Agrium Inc.) added 1.7 percent to C$138.84 as the two fertilizer companies move closer to a merger.

* The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.5 percent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd (>> First Quantum Minerals Limited) jumped 5.3 percent to C$15.90 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stocks to a "buy" recommendation.

* The heavyweight financials groups fell 0.3 percent, with the country's biggest banks among its heaviest weights, while industrials lost 0.4 percent as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (>> Canadian Pacific Railway Limited) lost 1.2 percent to C$228.90.

* Prometic Life Sciences Inc (>> ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.) ended up 6.3 percent to C$1.35 after a British health regulator gave one of its drugs a promising designation.

* Shopify Inc added 3.3 percent to C$133.80 after the commerce software company was added to several S&P/TSX sub-indices.

* Several gold miners gained after Desjardins recommended them as "buy" stocks, with Iamgold Corp (>> IAMGOLD Corp) up 3.4 percent to C$6.72 and Detour Gold Corp (>> Detour Gold Corporation) adding 1 percent to C$12.90.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Andrew Hay and Lisa Shumaker)

By Alastair Sharp