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By Nichola Saminather
TORONTO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index closed at a 2-1/2-week high on Wednesday, led by financials and industrials, with all sectors but technology posting gains.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 84.57 points, or 0.55 percent, higher at 15,524.01, its strongest close since Feb. 2.
* Canadian stocks bucked a downward trend in global stocks that were driven lower by a stronger U.S. dollar and rising government bond prices after minutes of the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting showed confidence in the need to keep raising interest rates. * The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of major peers, rose 0.4 percent to 90.08. It advanced 0.4 percent to C$1.2702, its highest level this year versus the Canadian dollar.
* The global stocks benchmark lost 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 pulled back 0.55 percent.
* Despite a 0.47 percent retreat in gold futures , reversing an earlier increase, Kirkland Lake Gold , Guyana Goldfields and OceanaGold Corp retained their gains to be among the 10 biggest advancers on the Toronto exchange.
* The biggest gainer was logistics company TFI International , which advanced 10.5 percent after brokerages including Desjardins, Laurentian Bank Securities and Cowen & Co upgraded the company's rating and target price after its better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. * Shopify Inc was the worst performer on the index, sliding 6.7 percent after it priced a $657.6 million share offering. It closed at a record high on Tuesday. * Among the most active Canadian stocks by volume were Bombardier B , which closed down 1.8 percent at C$3.85, after touching its highest level since January 2015 earlier in the session, Element Fleet Management , which recovered 9.2 percent to C$4.75 after earlier hitting its lowest since July 2012, and Canopy Growth , down 2.9 percent at C$24.74.
* There were 182 advancing issues and 53 decliners, while 15 were flat.
(Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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