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Fed rate decision at 2 p.m. ET

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Gildan Activewear ( GIL ) jumps on PT hikes

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TSX up 0.1%

(Updated at 9:56 a.m. ET/1356 GMT)

By Shubham Batra

March 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged

higher on Wednesday supported by rate-sensitive stocks ahead of

the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision due later in the day,

while energy shares led sectoral losses tracking oil prices.

At 9:56 a.m. ET (13:56 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's

S&P/TSX composite index was up 26.66 points, or 0.12%,

at 21,887.24.

All eyes are on the Fed's rate decision, due at 2 p.m. ET,

where the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates

unchanged, but the focus will be on the commentary to gauge the

timing of the first rate cut and the quantum of cuts in 2024.

"In our view, we see scope for the Fed to start cutting

rates in June, however, the path of policy still remains very

data dependent," said Henk Potts, market strategist at Barclays

Private Bank.

Rate-sensitive sectors such as consumer discretionary

, technology and utilities rose

between 0.4% and 0.7%.

Energy shares which gained in the previous session

were down 0.4% as oil prices edged lower after hitting

multi-month highs on Tuesday.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE

ended higher on Tuesday, moving closer to a near two-year high

it notched last Wednesday at 21,970.11.

Shares of Gildan Activewear ( GIL ) jumped 3.8% to over

two-year high after the National Bank of Canada raised the price

target on the stock. Canadian clothing maker's board decided on

Tuesday to put the company up for sale and is in talks with

multiple bidders.

Kelt Exploration ( KELTF ) was also up 2.2% after TD

Securities upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Hold".

Meanwhile, two big Canadian pension funds invested a total

of C$595 million ($438.3 million) in India's National Highways

Infra Trust this week, dialling up their bets on the

poll-bound South Asian country's booming infrastructure sector.