* TSX rises 1% in broader gains

* Canadian inflation falls to 1.8% in Feb

(Updates after markets open)

By Purvi Agarwal and Rashika Singh

March 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index inched higher on Monday, after three

sessions of declines, as investors took cues from Wall Street and welcomed a pullback in oil

prices, even as the war in the Middle East raged on.

At 11:05 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.7% at 32,778.96 points. The

index is on track for its biggest daily gain since February 26, before the conflict began.

Oil prices retreated amid attacks on Gulf oil production and U.S. President Donald Trump's

call for a global effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz, though both crude benchmarks remain up

more than 40% this month, and are at their highest levels since 2022.

The pullback in oil prices lifted broader risk appetite, with all sectors on the TSX trading

higher. Even energy stocks rose 0.4%, after hitting their highest level since

September 2008 in the previous session.

"Due to fears of oil-induced inflation and a potential global slowdown, stocks are currently

inversely correlated with oil prices... This coupling is temporary and provides an opportunity

to investors to increase selective stock exposure at favorable valuations," said Richard

Saperstein, chief investment officer, Treasury Partners.

As a net oil exporter, Canada may be better shielded than many peers from the

conflict-driven oil spike, offering some cushion as other indicators cool.

Meanwhile, information technology stocks were up 1.7%, tracking robust gains on

the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq. Shares of miners rose 1.5%, even as metal prices

vacillated between gains and losses.

This week, investors will look to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada for cues

on the central banks' monetary policy outlook, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran stokes inflation

worries, clouding the prospects for rate cuts.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the BoC to keep its overnight rate unchanged next

week and through the rest of the year, for now looking past inflation risks stemming from the

Middle East war.

Separately, data showed Canada's annual inflation rate eased to 1.8% in February.