Feb 10 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was little changed on Monday as losses in energy shares were countered by a rally in consumer stocks led by Restaurant Brands, while investors kept a wary eye on the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak.
* At 09:46 a.m. ET (14:46 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 7.7 points, or 0.04%, at 17,663.19.
* Restaurant Brands International Inc QSR.TO rallied 3% after its quarterly results beat analysts' estimates on Monday, taking the consumer discretionary index .GSPTTCD up more than 1%. Data showing Canadian housing starts rose by 8.8% in January from the previous month further boosted sentiment, while separate data indicated the value of Canadian building permits rose by 7.4% in December from November. The energy sector .SPTTEN dropped 1.2% as U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 0.7% a barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 lost 1.1% on weaker Chinese oil demand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. O/R
* The fast-spreading, flu-like virus has so far killed more than 900 people in China, exceeding the death toll from a SARS epidemic two decades ago. The materials sector .GSPTTMT , which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.1% as gold futures GCc1 rose 0.3% to $1,573.1 an ounce on its safe-haven appeal. GOL/ MET/L
* On the TSX, 126 issues were higher, while 100 issues declined for a 1.26-to-1 ratio favouring gainers, with 19.82 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Transalta Corp TA.TO , which jumped 4.8% after an RBC upgrade to "outperform". Silvercorp Metal SVM.TO followed with its 3.3% rise.
* Aurora Cannabis ACB.TO fell 5.3%, the most on the TSX, after brokerage CIBC cut its price target for the stocks. The second biggest decliner was Ivanhoe Mines Ltd IVN.TO , down 3.7%.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier BBDb.TO , Aurora Cannabis ACB.TO and Enbridge Inc ENB.TO .
* The TSX posted 15 new 52-week highs and one new low.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were 53 new 52-week highs and 9 new lows, with total volume of 32.91 million shares.