TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday as the prospect of the first oral antiviral medication for COVID-19 boosted the sectors that could benefit most from a recovery in economic growth, but the market still posted a decline for the week. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 80.62 points, or 0.4%, at 20,150.87. Wall Street also rose. Gains for stocks came as experts hailed an experimental antiviral pill developed by Merck & Co as a potential breakthrough in how the COVID-19 virus is treated. “Because we’ve been floundering for a few weeks, investors have seized on this as a potential catalyst to perhaps speed up the timeline of recovery from COVID,” said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. “You are seeing the cyclicals move up nicely today.” The industrials and consumer discretionary groups both rose 0.9%, while the heavily-weighted financial services sector ended 0.7% higher. Data showed that Canada’s economy expanded 0.7% in August after a slight contraction in July. Still, the Toronto market fell 1.2% for the week, its fourth straight weekly decline. “The whole scare about inflation, investors might be taking it a little bit more seriously,” Picardo said. “You have seen (bond) yields tick up, you’ve seen crude oil come back really strongly.” U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.1% higher at $75.88 a barrel on Friday, supported by tight supplies due to OPEC+ supply curbs. The energy sector on the TSX rose 0.5%, while technology was up 0.6%. Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.