*

TSX up 0.3%

*

Materials shares lead gains

*

Lithium Americas ( LAC ) discounts equity offering; shares plummet

(Updated at 10:00 a.m. ET/ 1400 GMT)

By Purvi Agarwal

April 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged

marginally higher on Thursday, propelled by materials stocks

tracking higher prices of metals, while miner Lithium Americas ( LAC )

tumbled to the bottom of the index after a deep-discounted

equity offering.

At 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's

S&P/TSX composite index was up 69.08 points, or 0.32%,

at 21,725.13.

The materials sector, which houses Canadian

miners and fertilizer companies, rose 1.0%, pulled up by

precious and base metal miners.

Silvercrest Metals ( SILV ) and First Quantum

climbed with a 5.1% and 3.2% gain, tracking surging prices of

gold and copper.

Energy shares followed with a 0.4% advance as oil

prices turned positive after ticking downwards earlier in the

session.

Five sectors on the index were logging losses, led by a 0.8%

and 0.5% decline in healthcare and technology

shares, respectively.

The TSX snapped its five-session losing streak on Wednesday

with a 0.1% rise, but gains were capped by the Canadian

government's planned tax increase on investment profits.

On the data front, the number of Americans filing new

unemployment benefit claims was unchanged at low levels last

week, pointing to continued labor market strength.

"(The labor market) is still relatively strong and lowering

interest rates will be more difficult," said Graham Priest,

investment advisor at BlueShore Financial.

"It is continuing to look like a higher rates for longer

situation and it might not be until next year that we start to

see rates come down", Priest added, pointing to Federal Reserve

Chair Jerome Powell's comments on Tuesday that restrictive

policy needed more time to work.

In Canadian corporate news, shares of Lithium Americas Corp ( LAC )

sunk 28.2% after the lithium miner sold 55 million

shares at a deep discount to raise $275 million.