*TSX up 33.28 points, or 0.28 percent, at 11,815.88
*Strong bullion price boosts gold miners
(Updates, adds quotes)
By Jennifer Kwan
TORONTO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index climbed on Wednesday morning, pushed up by a firmer gold price and stronger than expected U.S. economic data that helped ease concerns about the global recovery.
Gold miners on the upside included Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), up 1.7 percent at C$43.18, and Goldcorp Inc (G.TO), which rose 2 percent to C$40.56. The price of bullion broke above $1,200 an ounce in Europe, touching the highest level in more than two weeks. [GOL/]
U.S. Institute of Supply Management services activity data for July helped to further boost investor optimism [.N], said Bruce Latimer, trader at Dundee Securities.
"It was a good number, stronger than expected and indicates that some of the fundamental, underlying factors of the economy are stronger than people expected," he said.
That reading came after data earlier on Wednesday showed U.S. private employers added 42,000 jobs in July, better than economists' forecast of 40,000. For details, see [ID:nEAP103300]
At 10:11 a.m. (1411 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 33.28 points, or 0.28 percent, at 11,815.88, with eight of its 10 main sectors higher.
In individual company news, fertilizer maker Agrium Inc (AGU.TO), up 3.2 percent at C$67.14, said second-quarter profit rose, driven by increased demand for agricultural inputs, higher crop nutrient margins and a jump in potash sales volumes. [ID:nN04220687]
($1=$1.02 Canadian) (Additional reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Peter Galloway)
