Bond yields jumped after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said it would be unwise to wait too long to raise U.S. interest rates.

Higher yields reduce the value of insurance companies' liabilities and increase banks' net interest margins.

Manulife Financial Corp (>> Manulife Financial Corp.) rose 1.5 percent to C$24.95, while the overall financials group advanced 0.3 percent.

The group has soared more than 13 percent since the U.S. presidential election, helped by the prospect of U.S. economic stimulus and deregulation.

"Canadian banks are getting a bit pricey," said Ian Scott, equity analyst at Manulife Asset Management.

"You are seeing a bit of a move but just not nearly as much as you have seen in the past."

The consumer discretionary group climbed 0.7 percent, with Magna International Inc (>> Magna International Inc.) gaining 1.2 percent to C$59.10.

Auto supplier stocks such as Magna had been held back by investor worries of a proposed U.S. border adjustment tax, Scott said.

Imposition of such a measure would "hit Canadian exports hard," said the C.D. Howe Institute in a research report.

On Monday, Trump said he only wants to tweak trade ties with Canada.

But his pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to focus on Mexico is almost impossible and Canada will not emerge unscathed, Canadian officials and trade experts said.

Energy gained 0.9 percent as oil prices rose.

U.S. crude oil futures settled 27 cents higher at $53.20 a barrel but some gains were pared amid concerns about rising supply from U.S. shale output. [O/R]

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 29.45 points, or 0.19 percent, at 15,786.03.

It was the sixth straight day of gains for the index, which has rallied nearly 37 percent from a three-year trough in January last year.

The utilities group, which tends to underperform as bond yields rise, fell 0.8 percent and the materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, dipped 0.2 percent.

Teck Resources Ltd (>> Teck Resources Ltd) fell nearly 2 percent to C$32.67 as copper pared some recent gains.

Copper prices declined 1.4 percent to $6,020.85 a tonne and gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,229 an ounce.

Five of the index's 10 main groups ended higher.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Diane Craft)

By Fergal Smith