TORONTO (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks erased declines to close little changed as energy companies rose, led by EnCana Corp., on higher prices for natural gas and crude oil.Shares of industrial and materials companies Canadian National Railway Co. and Teck Cominco Ltd. fell on concern that mortgage loan delinquencies will curb growth in the US, reducing demand for commodities in the world’s biggest economy.

“The assumption appears to be that 100 percent of all subprime loans may go bust,” said Bruce Hartman, who helps manage about $772 million at Barometer Capital Management Inc. in Toronto. “It’s a problem, but not of that magnitude. We’ve got a bit of firmness back in oil and gas.”

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.87 to 12,808.73 in Toronto. The benchmark earlier dropped as much as 1.2 percent before paring losses after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said risks posed by rising home-loan delinquencies are “well contained.”

EnCana, Canada’s biggest natural-gas producer, added 13 cents to C$54.75. Smaller rival Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gained 63 cents to C$60.48.

The price of natural gas rose in New York from a seven-week low as utilities looking to acquire supplies for the summer power generation season made purchases.

Crude oil for April delivery rose 27 cents to $58.20 a barrel in New York, after the US Energy Department reported an unexpected decline in US refinery operating rates.

Canadian technology shares advanced after Qualcomm Inc., the world’s second-biggest maker of chips for mobile phones was upgraded by JPMorgan to “neutral” from “underweight” on the prospect that sales will rise.

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phones, rose C$3.02 to C$159. 34. Nortel Networks Corp., North America’s biggest phone-gear maker, added 25 cents to C31.75.

A measure of computer-related shares added 1.2 percent, the most among 10 industry groups in the S&P/TSX.

Canadian National, the country’s biggest railroad, fell 23 cents to C$50.75. Finning International Inc., the world’s biggest dealer in Caterpillar Inc.’s heavy equipment, dropped 20 cents to C$50.80.

An index of industrial stocks, among the most sensitive to economic growth, declined 0.2 percent.

Teck Cominco, the second-biggest zinc producer, retreated C$97 cents to C$77.90.