*

TSX up 0.2%

*

Materials, energy lead gains

*

MTY Foods slip after quarterly results

(Updated at 9:58 a.m. ET/ 1358 GMT)

By Purvi Agarwal

April 12 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged

higher on Friday, snapping a two-day slide as materials and

energy stocks surged on stronger commodities prices.

At 9:58 a.m. ET (1358 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's

S&P/TSX composite index was up 46.18 points, or 0.21%,

at 22,156.29.

The materials sector, which has Canadian miners

and fertilizer companies, led gains with a 2.2% surge, heading

for its best day since March-end.

The sector was pulled up by metal miners such as Silvercrest

Metals ( SILV ) and NovaGold Resources ( NG ), which gained

5.8% and 3.9%, respectively, after precious and base metals

marched upwards.

Energy shares also advanced 1.0% as oil prices

surged by $2 per barrel on Middle East tensions.

Eight of the eleven sectors were trading in losses.

Healthcare shares are on track to lag their

sectoral peers while material shares are set to outperform them.

The benchmark index faces a weekly loss after Wednesday's

plunge as the Canadian central bank kept its rates on hold, and

a reading of hot inflation data in the United States dampened

hopes of a June rate cut.

"This week's data showed that progress on inflation might be

stalling; interest rates might need to stay high for longer.

We'll see some of the caution persist", said Angelo Kourkafas,

senior investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.

Meanwhile, corporate earnings season kicked off in the

United States with big banks JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM )

reporting a higher first-quarter profit, while Citigroup

and Wells Fargo's ( WFC ) profits fell.

In Canadian corporate news, shares of MTY Foods

fell 8.0% after the restaurant operator reported its first

quarter results.