* TSX down 62.45 points, or 0.47 percent, at 13,317.03
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups were lower
TORONTO, March 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
to a two-week low on Thursday, with financial-sector and energy
stocks declining as a drop in oil prices weighed on the
resource-linked index.
The most influential movers on the index were bank stocks,
including Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO , which fell 1.4 percent
to C$73.93, and Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO , which declined 1.6
percent to C$62.26.
The heavily weighted financials group fell 1.3 percent,
while the energy group was down 1.1 percent.
Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO fell 0.8 percent to C$35.30, while
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO was down 1 percent at
C$34.42.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 2.8 percent at $38.66 a
barrel, dented by record-high stockpiles in the United States
and a stronger dollar. O/R
At 10:42 a.m. EDT (1442 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 62.45 points, or 0.47
percent, at 13,317.03. It touched its lowest since March 7 at
13,255.47.
Seven of the index's 10 main groups were lower.
A federal judge on Wednesday granted class certification for
a U.S. lawsuit claiming Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO misstated
facts of its now-halted Pascua-Lama gold-mine project on the
border of Argentina and Chile.
Nonetheless, the stock rose 2.6 percent to C$18.00 as spot
gold XAU= stabilized after hitting a four-week low. GOL/
The overall materials group, which includes precious and
base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.2 percent.
The defensive consumer staples group also advanced,
including a 0.6 percent rise in the shares of Loblaw Cos Ltd
L.TO to C$74.00.