* TSX up 17.80 points, or 0.16 percent, at 11,352.22
* Energy stocks rise with U.S. crude
* Fertilizer producers rise on corn crop worries
By Allison Martell
TORONTO, June 27 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged
higher on Wednesday morning as energy stocks rose with U.S.
crude prices and investors looked ahead to a European Union
summit on Thursday and Friday.
Although few expected the EU summit to resolve the region's
escalating debt crisis there was faint hope for small progress.
"We're all waiting to see what happens with the European
summit, whether something constructive or useful can be done,
and as a result of that I think people are being fairly cautious
in their trading," said David Baskin, portfolio manager and
president of Baskin Financial Services.
At about 10:00 a.m. (1400 GMT) the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index was up 17.80 points, or 0.16
percent, at 11,352.22.
U.S. crude prices rose after data showed demand for
long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rebounded more than
expected in May , and oil and gas stocks,
up 0.9 percent, played the biggest role in lifting the Toronto
index.
Shares of fertilizer producers also rose as U.S. new-crop
corn futures hit a nine-month high as operators worried about
damage to corn from hot, dry weather in the Midwest grain belt.
Fertilizer stocks typically track the price of
fertilizer-intensive corn closely as higher grain prices are
likely to spur farmers to increase use of crop nutrients.
In the fertilizer group, Potash Corp rose 1.7
percent to C$44.26, and in the energy group TransCanada Corp
was 1.4 percent higher at C$41.83. The two companies
played the biggest role in pulling the index higher.
The index's heavyweight materials sector, which includes
gold miners, fell 0.22 percent as gold prices eased, pressured
by weakness in the euro and other commodities.