April 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, lifted by energy shares as oil prices jumped after the U.S. announced a blockade of Iranian ports following the failure of peace talks, while the technology sector also recorded gains.
At 10:40 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 0.22% at 33,772.43 points.
The U.S. military said it will begin a blockade nL6N40V09S of all maritime traffic entering or leaving Iran after weekend talks failed to result in a peace deal, while Tehran threatened to retaliate against the ports of its Gulf neighbors.
The energy subindex was up 1.4% as oil prices surged 7% after talks collapsed, with futures for U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude hovering near $105 a barrel.
Meanwhile, technology stocks were up 2%, with e-commerce firm Shopify gaining 3.4%.
While markets received a respite last week in the form of a ceasefire, the failure of negotiations has led to renewed volatility even as investors brace for corporate earnings.
Goldman Sachs nL6N40T0YN was the first among U.S. banking giants to report its results this morning, with the lender's shares slipping 3.2% due to weakness in its fixed income, currencies, and commodities division.
"What we're looking for is for CEOs to come on and talk about the guidance. If the war drags on, and with higher oil prices, M&A activity could slow down for banks and weigh on profitability," said Michael Dehal, senior portfolio manager, Dehal Investment Partners at Raymond James.
Financials, the heaviest-weighted sector on the Canadian benchmark index, gained 0.2%.
But seven of 10 sectors on the TSX were in the red in morning trade.
Consumer staples led sectoral losses, declining 1.8%.
The gold index fell 1.1% after bullion prices retreated as fears of war-driven inflation reduced expectations of interest-rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The materials sector, which includes metal miners, was down 0.5%.
Among individual movers, Secure Waste Infrastructure jumped 7.7% after waste management company GFL Environmental agreed to buy the company in a C$6.4 billion ($4.63 billion) deal nL4N40W0V8. GFL Environmental shares, however, dropped 7.5%.
(Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
