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The Metro store at Lakeshore and Southdown Road store in Mississauga, Ont., on Aug. 9, 2014.J.P. Moczulski/The Globe and Mail

Canadian stocks rose for a third consecutive day, headed for a two-week high, as grocers advanced and energy producers extended a rally.

Surge Energy Inc. and Penn West Petroleum Ltd. climbed at least 2.4 per cent as energy shares increased a third straight day. Metro Inc. increased 2.3 per cent to pace gains among consumer-staples shares. Sherritt International Corp. declined 2.2 per cent as a strike at its mine in Madagascar extended to a ninth day.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 110.94 points at 15,068.15 after initially trading lower.

The less influential consumer staples sector was the biggest gainer by far, surging 2.1 per cent.

Penn West increased 2.5 per cent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 1 per cent as energy shares gained 0.5 per cent as a group. Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose on trading volume 20 per cent lower than the 30-day average.

Teck Resources Ltd. slipped 3.2 per cent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 1 per cent. China's preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics for March was 49.2, down from February's 50.7 and the lowest since April 2014. Numbers less than 50 indicate contraction.

Royal Bank of Canada added 0.3 per cent and Toronto-Dominion Bank increased 0.3 per cent as the S&P/TSX Banks Index rose a third day. The group has rallied 1.4 per cent in that period.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. increased 3 per cent and Loblaw Cos. rose 2 per cent as consumer-staples stocks rallied 2.1 per cent as a group to a three-week high.

The energy sector in Toronto was up 0.43 per cent as the May crude oil contract gained 36 cents to trade for $47.81 (U.S.).

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar fell 0.14 of a U.S. cent to 79.92 cents (U.S.).

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose as technology shares rallied, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fluctuated as investors weighed economic data for clues on when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.

Google Inc. and Netflix Inc. climbed more than 2.5 per cent to pace gains among technology companies. Facebook Inc. advanced 1.5 per cent. Consumer staples extended gains to a third day.

The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.4 per cent to 5,031.48 at 11:22 a.m. in New York, and is 0.3 per cent below its record set in 2000. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.2 per cent to 2,107.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 28.36 points, or 0.2 per cent to 18,144.40.

"The market's inclination is still to move positive," Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2-billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview. "The market is looking for new direction, but it hasn't seen it yet, and that's why we're churning and trading in a pretty narrow range."

The Nasdaq gauge came within 7 points of its all-time high Friday, nearly wiping out its losses since the end of the dot-com bubble. The index has rebounded 3.6 per cent since March 11. It crossed 5,000 earlier this month before losing 3.2 per cent in nine days.

Health-care stocks have bolstered the rally as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index jumped 6.2 per cent to a record last week, and is on track for its best monthly gain since October.

The S&P 500 and Dow have risen within 1 per cent of records they reached on March 2 amid speculation the Fed won't hasten an interest-rate increase.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues last week opened the door to an interest-rate increase as soon as June, while indicating in their forecasts they'll go slow once they start.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams said in remarks prepared for delivery in Sydney Tuesday that a discussion should happen mid-year about tightening policy, even as he lowered his growth forecast.

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