(Updates prices, sectors) Aug 4 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index was little changed on Wednesday as gains in miners countered a plunge in energy stocks due to weaker crude prices. * The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.4% as gold futures rose 1.1% to $1,830.5 an ounce. * The energy sector dropped 2.3% as crude prices fell on concerns around the increasing spread of the coronavirus Delta variant in top consuming countries. * At 9:35 a.m. ET (13:35 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 16.82 points, or 0.08%, at 20,382.67. * The value of Canadian building permits rose by 6.9% in June from May, Statistics Canada said. * The financials sector gained 0.1%. The industrials sector fell 0.1%. * On the TSX, 125 issues were higher, while 97 issues declined for a 1.29-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 7.96 million shares traded. * The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was mattress retailer Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc, which jumped 11.8% after posting upbeat second-quarter earnings. * The second-biggest gainer was Colliers International Group Inc, which rose 7.5%. * Oil producers Crescent Point Energy Corp and Vermilion Energy Inc were the biggest decliners on the index, down 3.5% and 3%, respectively. * The most heavily traded shares by volume were Xanadu Mines Limited, Crescent Point Energy Corp, and Suncor Energy Inc. * The TSX posted no new 52-week highs and no new lows. * Across all Canadian issues there were 49 new 52-week highs and five new lows, with total volume of 16.59 million shares. (Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.