TSX edges higher as gold climbs back above $2,000

Canada's main stock index edged higher on Tuesday, boosted by gold miners after prices of the yellow metal climbed as a weakening dollar drove investors holding other currencies to the safe-haven asset.* Gold rose more than 1% on Tuesday to climb back above the $2,000 level breached earlier this month.* The materials sector , which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.9% as gold futures rose 0.9% to $2,002.3 an ounce. [GOL/]

* The Canadian dollar strengthened to its highest level in nearly seven months against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as the greenback broadly declined and investors weighed reports of who will replace Bill Morneau as Canada's finance minister.

* Canadian warehouse robotics company Attabotics on Tuesday said it raised $50 million in a funding round led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.

* The energy sector climbed 0.5% as U.S. crude prices were down 1.5% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 1.0%. [O/R]

* At 9:43 a.m. ET (1343 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.37 points, or 0.21%, at 16,690.49.

* On the TSX, 126 issues were higher, while 83 issues declined for a 1.52-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 14.84 million shares traded.

* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Seven Generations Energy Ltd and First Quantum Minerals Ltd, rising 4.7% and 3.8%, respectively.

* Corus Entertainment Inc fell 2.4%, the most on the TSX. The second-biggest decliner was engineering and construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc, down 1.8%.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were StageZero Life Sciences Ltd , D-Box Technologies Inc and B2Gold Corp .

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

* Across all Canadian issues, there were 31 new 52-week highs and four new lows, with total volume of 42.38 million shares.

(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)