CANADA STOCKS-TSX gains over 1% after Democrats seize US midterms; miners lead advances

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced more than 1% on Wednesday as Democrats swept the US midterm elections, with higher gold prices boosting mining shares.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE was up 1.29% at 35,990.05 points as of 1036 a.m. ET (1536 GMT).

• Democrats seized control of both chambers of the US Congress on Tuesday, scoring sweeping victories in Republican strongholds — including border states like Minnesota, Maine and Michigan — and delivering a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump

• "There's definitely a signal that several Republican-held seats along the border flipped to Democrats, as those states appear to be feeling the impact of the trade war with Canada, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management

• That could push Washington to ease its position, Taylor said, with some tariffs potentially rolled back and a deal reached in the near term

• Materials sector .GSPTTMT became the biggest gainer in the index, advancing 5%, as gold prices rose in the wake of the election results GOL/

• Heavily weighted financials .SPTTFS rose 1.9%, while consumer discretionary stocks .GSPTTCD also climbed 3.1%

• Energy sector .SPTTEN was the biggest loser, declining about 4%, as Brent crude LCOc1 fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since October 7 O/R

• Investors are now awaiting Washington's next move in the US-Israeli war on Iran

• Meanwhile, Canada's employment report is due on Friday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the economy to have added 13,600 jobs last month while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.5%

• Canada's services economy contracted for a fifth straight month in October as trade uncertainty and rising prices weighed on activity, S&P Global's Canada services PMI data showed

• Among stocks, Fairfax Holdings FFH.TO rose 8.8% after its third-quarter net earnings rose sharply year-over-year on investment gains

• Element Fleet EFN.TO slipped 11.5% after a weaker full-year forecast and a narrow quarterly miss

(Reporting by Anand Gopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((AnandGopal.R@thomsonreuters.com))