July 28 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index inched higher on Tuesday as investors weighed the prospect of more U.S. stimulus to shore up a pandemic-hit economy against fears of more lockdowns due to a global surge in COVID-19 cases.

* U.S. lawmakers geared up to discuss recovery strategies on Tuesday, a day after Senate Republicans proposed a $1 trillion aid package hammered out with the White House.

* Rising cases of COVID-19 infections in several countries have marked more than 16.57 million cases globally and 654,269 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

* At 10:24 a.m. ET (14:24 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 12.38 points, or 0.08%, at 16,173.71.

* The energy sector dropped 1.6% as U.S. crude prices were down 1.0% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 0.2%.

* The financials sector slipped 0.4%. The industrials sector fell 0.1%.

* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, remain unchanged however, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,928.6 an ounce.

* On the TSX, 127 issues were higher, while 89 issues declined for a 1.43-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 39.49 million shares traded.

* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Canopy Growth Corp, which jumped 6.8% and Aurora Cannabis , which rose 6.6%.

* Brookfield Business Partners L.P. fell 4.0%, the most on the TSX, and the second biggest decliner was MEG Energy Corp, down 3.5%.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Zenabis Global Inc, up 5%; Aphria Inc, up 5.3% and Aberdeen International Inc, down 25%.

* The TSX posted six new 52-week highs and no new lows.

* Across all Canadian issues there were 24 new 52-week highs and two new lows, with total volume of 94.43 million shares. (Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)