April 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Thursday as oil prices recovered on hopes of production cuts, while some provinces prepared to ease shutdowns imposed to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
* At 09:43 a.m. ET (13:43 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 107.28 points, or 0.75%, at 14,395.44.
* The energy sector .SPTTEN climbed 3% as U.S. crude CLc1 prices were up 20.6% a barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 added 8.4%. O/R
* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Frontera Energy Corp FEC.TO , which jumped 9.7%, and Vermilion Energy VET.TO , which rose 9.4%, aided also by a price target raise by National Bank of Canada.
* Some Canadian provinces, such as Quebec and Saskatchewan, prepared to start lifting shutdowns in the coming weeks as data showed Canada's death toll from the coronavirus rose by less than 10% for the third day in a row on Wednesday. The materials sector .GSPTTMT , which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 3.1% as gold futures GCc1 rose 0.4% to $1,735.6 an ounce. GOL/ MET/L
* The financials sector .SPTTFS gained 0.2%, while the industrials sector .GSPTTIN rose 0.5%.
* On the TSX, 169 issues were higher, while 57 issues declined for a 2.96-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 25.27 million shares traded.
* Gildan Activewear GIL.TO fell 1.9%, the most on the TSX, after a price target cut by Canaccord Genuity. The second biggest decliner was SmartCentres REIT SRU_u.TO , down 1.7%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Cenovus Energy CVE.TO and StageZero Life Sciences Inc SZLS.TO .
* The TSX posted 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues there were 26 new 52-week highs and one new low, with total volume of 52.21 million shares.