* At 9:35 a.m. ET (1335 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index <.GSPTSE> was up 67.84 points, or 0.42 percent, at 16,247.73.

* Data showed, the Canadian economy grew by 0.1 percent in April against a Reuters poll prediction of no change from March, despite bad weather affecting major sectors such as retail, trade and construction.

* Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz on Wednesday kept markets guessing as to whether rates would rise next week and said economic data would decide the next move. The central bank has hiked rates three times since July 2017.

* The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart following April GDP data, raising expectations for a central bank interest rate hike next month.

* Seven of the index's 11 major sectors were higher, led by the energy sector <.SPTTEN> which climbed 1.0 percent.

* Oil prices rose as U.S. sanctions against Iran threatened to remove a substantial volume of crude oil from world markets at a time of rising global demand.

* U.S. crude prices were up 0.4 percent and Brent crude added 1.3 percent.

* The financials sector <.SPTTFS> gained 0.1 percent while the materials sector <.GSPTTMT> rose 0.4.

* On the TSX, 142 issues were higher, while 90 issues declined for a 1.58-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 9.84 million shares traded.

* Top percentage gainer on the TSX were shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd, which jumped 7.6 percent after sources told Reuters that the copper miner could be a takeover target of global miner Rio Tinto Plc.

* Second-biggest percentage gainer were shares of Enbridge Inc, which rose 6 percent after the Minnesota regulator approved the rebuilding of its Line 3 oil pipeline.

* Novagold Resources fell 1.2 percent, top decliner on the TSX and the second-biggest decliner was Russel Metals, down 1.2 percent.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Enbridge, Canopy Growth Co and Trevali Mining Corp.

* The TSX posted one new 52-week high and three new lows.

* Across all Canadian issues there were seven new 52-week highs and 13 new lows, with total volume of 16.04 million shares.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)