(Updated at 10:06 a.m. ET/ 15:06 GMT)

By Nikhil Sharma

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on

Monday, boosted by mining shares tracking higher gold prices,

ahead of this week's domestic inflation data and leading

chipmaker Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 106.73 points,

or 0.43%, at 24,997.41.

Leading the sectoral gains, the materials sector

added 2.6% as gold prices rebounded against a softer dollar

after the bullion posted losses in the previous six sessions.

The heavyweight energy sector advanced 0.7% as oil

prices edged higher after the war between Russia and Ukraine

intensified over the weekend.

Orla Mining , up 8.5%, IAMGOLD ( IAG ), up 7%, and

OceanaGold ( OCANF ), 6.2% higher, led the index.

"Gold is performing strongly, and with the Canadian economy

being heavily resource-driven, it's providing a boost to the TSX

today," said Shiraz Ahmed, senior portfolio manager and founder

of Sartorial Wealth at Raymond James.

Canadian housing starts rose 8% in October, compared with

the previous month, as groundbreaking increased on multi-unit

and single-family detached homes.

Domestic investors awaited consumer price index data for

October, due Tuesday, which could provide insights into the Bank

of Canada's policy trajectory for its December meeting.

The BoC last month slashed its key benchmark rate by 50

basis points. Given annual inflation slipped to 1.6% in

September, below the central bank's 2% target, markets see a

possibility of another jumbo cut in December.

Bets for another 50-bps cut stood at 34.8%.

On Wall Street, main indexes were mixed on Monday ahead of

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) quarterly results.

The chipmaker's third-quarter results on Wednesday will grab

market attention as they could possibly extend or restrict a

prolonged rally in AI-linked stocks.

Meanwhile, Canadian fund Brookfield plans to offer

about 7 billion euros ($7.4 billion) for Spanish drugmaker

Grifols after finishing due diligence, news website El

Confidencial reported.

Brookfield's shares were down 0.5% on Monday.