(Updates with morning prices)

By Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit

June 23 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-heavy main stock

index rose on Monday as mining shares tracked higher metal

prices, fueled by concerns of escalating Middle East tensions

after the U.S. joined Israel in striking Iran's nuclear

facilities over the weekend.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 0.5% at

26,622.99 points.

Investors globally awaited Tehran's response to the U.S.

strike. Iran had threatened to retaliate and called U.S.

President Donald Trump a "gambler" for joining Israel's military

campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday that he

spoke with Trump about trade negotiations between the two

countries and the Middle East conflict.

"The market reaction to the price of oil indicates there's a

sense that this is a one-time deal," said Lorne Steinberg,

co-president and portfolio manager at Lorne Steinberg Wealth

Management.

In Toronto, the energy sector lost 0.5%, tracking

a fall in oil prices.

Trump on Monday expressed a desire to see oil prices kept

down amid fears that ongoing fighting in the Middle East could

cause them to spike. Oil prices had hit a five-month high

earlier in the session.

On the flip side, mining stocks rose 1.7% after

gold prices increased slightly. Most other base metals

also gained as escalating Iran-Israel tensions outweighed

pressure from a stronger dollar.

Information and technology rose 0.5%.

Among individual stocks, First Quantum Minerals ( FQVLF ) said

it had temporarily suspended operations in the area of an

accident at the Trident project in Zambia which resulted in the

death of an employee.