July 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened slightly lower on Thursday, dragged down by shares of energy stocks as oil prices eased and material stocks took a hit from a dip in gold prices.
At 9:31 a.m. ET (13:31 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 2.49 points, or 0.02%, at 16,573.71.