* TSX up 0.17 points to 15,609.83
* BlackBerry surges 13.9 pct; Bombardier up 6.7 pct
* Metro down 2.8 pct, Jean Coutu down 1.3 pct
TORONTO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index held steady on Thursday as broader declines were offset by a strong rally in BlackBerry Ltd BB.TO and Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO stocks.
BlackBerry reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results on record sales for its closely watched software unit, sending its shares surging 13.9 percent to C$13.13. BlackBerry was the most influential driver on the positive side for the index and also helped lift the technology sector by 1.1 percent. Inc rebounded from sharp losses in the previous session after the company was dealt major setbacks in its aerospace and rail units. The shares advanced 6.7 percent to
C$2.24. The overall industrials group remain unchanged. Pharmaceuticals International VRX.TO fell 4.9 percent to C$17.08, pushing the healthcare group down 1.3 percent.
Metro Inc MRU.TO gave back some of Wednesday's rally following news it was in talks to buy pharmacy chain Jean Coutu PJCa.TO for $3.6 billion. Metro was down 2.8 percent at
C$42.40, while Jean Coutu was down 1.3 percent at C$24.23. 10:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE rose 0.17 point to 15,609.83.
Many of the index's 10 main groups were little changed.
The energy group seesawed throughout the morning and was last down 0.3 percent. Energy stocks lost steam as crude oil prices pared early gains, with U.S. crude CLc1 prices up 0.5 percent to $52.38 a barrel after climbing as much as 1.5 percent earlier. O/R
Advancing issues outnumbered declines on the TSX by 145 to 100, for a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the upside.