* The Toronto Stock Exchange's TSX rises 0.70 percent to 17,028.73 

* Leading the index were Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc , up 8.1%, Lightspeed POS Inc , up 7.3%, and BlackBerry Ltd , higher by 7.3%.

* Lagging shares were Real Matters Inc , down 15.1%, Air Canada, down 3.0%, and Parkland Corp, lower by 3.0%.

* On the TSX 159 issues rose and 58 fell as a 2.7-to-1 ratio favored advancers. There were 5 new highs and no new lows, with total volume of 159.5 million shares.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Manulife Financial Corp , Cenovus Energy Inc  and Air Canada.

* The TSX's energy group  rose 0.73 points, or 0.9%, while the financials sector climbed 0.92 points, or 0.3%.

* West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.03%, or $0.43, to $42.17 a barrel. Brent crude  rose 1.95%, or $0.86, to $45.06 [O/R]

* The TSX is off 0.2% for the year.