March 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was muted on Wednesday, as declining technology and mining shares outweighed gains in energy, while investors continued monitoring developments in the Middle East.
At 11:10 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.2% at 33,146.43 points.
Energy was the top gainer, rising 2.4% as crude oil prices remained elevated even after the International Energy Agency recommended the release of 400 million barrels of oil to restrain prices as the Strait of Hormuz remains choked.
"Oil is likely to hover in the mid-$80s to around $90 if shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, but if tankers can sail through, you could see WTI drop back into the low $70s almost immediately," said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at Allan Small Financial Group.
"I'd be very surprised to see it above $100 without something new and negative from the war."
However, Iran's military command said on Wednesday the world should be prepared for oil to hit $200 a barrel, as three more ships came under attack in the blockaded Gulf. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios that there's "practically nothing left" to target in Iran and that the war there will end "soon".
Offsetting gains, information technology stocks fell 2%, while materials lost 1%, as prices of most base and precious metals came under pressure.
The benchmark TSX is down about 3% from levels seen before the conflict that has sent crude prices soaring and lifted Canadian energy stocks. The energy sector is the best-performing sector so far this year, while information technology has lagged.
Meanwhile, data showed U.S. consumer prices rose moderately in February, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to hold its lending rate steady next week.
Among individual stocks, Canadian non-prime consumer lender goeasy slumped 12.1% after more than halving in value in the previous session, as the company flagged a charge-off of about C$178 million ($131.09 million) and write-downs tied to its LendCare unit.
($1 = 1.3578 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
By Rashika Singh
