CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat as energy losses offset mining, tech gains

Updates with market opening prices

By Ragini Mathur

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was subdued on Thursday as losses in energy shares were offset by gains in mining and technology stocks.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE held steady at 24,793.53 points, mirroring the sentiment on Wall Street. .N

Energy stocks .SPTTEN were down 1.3% as crude oil prices fell from multi-month highs. O/R

However, high silver XAG= and gold XAU= prices helped limit losses for Canadian stocks. The materials sector .GSPTTMT rose 0.5%, with miners MAG Silver MAG.TO and Pan American Silver PAAS.TO leading gains. GOL/

Information technology shares .SPTTTK rose 1.1%.

Canada is preparing a list of potential U.S. retaliatory tariffs and some of those could be on critical minerals, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Thursday.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had earlier proposed a 25% tariff.

Canada's benchmark index recorded its best single-day performance since November on Wednesday following a benign U.S. inflation report, which boosted the chances of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

"A lot of gains were experienced yesterday and today you are probably going to see muted markets," Allan Small, senior investment adviser at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth, said on Thursday.

The Bank of Canada is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.00% when it meets later this month, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Data released on Thursday showed U.S. retail sales increased solidly in December - pointing to strong demand in the world's biggest economy - and Canadian housing starts fell 13% in December compared with the previous month.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Sahal Muhammed)

((Ragini.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com))