* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.7% as gold futures fell 1.6% to $1,848.2 an ounce. [GOL/]
* Canadian factory sales slipped by 2.1% in April from March on lower sales of transportation equipment, as well as subdued petroleum and coal products sector, Statistics Canada said.
* At 9:43 a.m. ET (13:43 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 14.52 points, or 0.07%, at 20,123.83.
* The energy sector climbed 1.4% as U.S. crude prices were up 1% a barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.9%. [O/R]
* Financials slipped 0.3%, while industrials fell 0.1%.
* On the TSX, 120 issues were higher, while 107 issues declined for a 1.12-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with a trading volume of 22.35 million shares.
* TSX's top gainers were paper and packaging company Cascades Inc and IT firm Kinaxis Inc , jumping 4.1% and 4.0%, respectively.
* Biggest decliners were uranium producers Nexgen Energy Ltd , down 5.9%, followed by Cameco Corp falling 5.5%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Canadian Natural Resources Limited, BCE Inc , and Hut 8 Mining Corp
* Twenty-two stocks hit fresh 52-week highs on the TSX, while there were no new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 95 new 52-week highs and four new lows, with total volume of 43.57 million shares.
(Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
