TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index finished higher yesterday for a sixth straight session on strength across its three biggest sectors - financials, energy, and materials.

The financial group shot up 3.6 percent as a third Canadian bank launched a preferred share offering this week to bolster its capital ratios and capital structure.

Royal Bank of Canada, Canada's biggest bank, announced a C$200 million preferred share offering to bolster its capital ratios and capital structure.

That follows offerings on Monday from Toronto-Dominion and National Bank of Canada. Genuity Capital Markets also raised its share-price targets for Bank of Nova Scotia , Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and TD, and cut its targets for Bank of Montreal , Royal and National.

Manulife Financial was the biggest mover on the index for the second day in a row, up six percent at C$24.11.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 2.01 percent, or 186.58 points, at 9,472.09 - finishing with triple-digit gains in five of its last six trading days.

Eight of the index's main 10 groups were higher, reflecting growing investor interest in non-commodity sectors as hopes for economic stimulus plans supported sentiment.

After last year's steep sell-off, sellers have reached an "exhaustion point", said Peter Chandler, senior vice-president at Canaccord Capital in Waterloo, Ontario.

"What you're seeing is a little bit of a broadening out of the rally as we go through what were previously technical resistance levels."

The materials group advanced 2.01 percent. Several Canadian base metal miners hit multi-month highs as stronger prices and improving expectations for steel demand helped revive some hope for a sustained rebound in the hard-hit sector.

Copper miner Quadra was up 13.4 percent at C$4.15, while nickel miner Sherritt International was up 11.5 percent at C$4.45.

Oil prices slipped below $49 a barrel as weak US economic data triggered a bout of profit-taking, but the heavyweight energy sector still rose 1.66 percent. Suncor Energy gained 5.9 percent to C$29.02.