(Adds strategist comment, updates prices to close)
* TSX ends down 21.37 points, or 0.16 percent, at 13,358.11
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups fell
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, March 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
to a two-week low on Thursday before paring some losses, as bank
stocks retreated amid rising chatter from U.S. central bankers
about hiking interest rates and as a recovery in oil prices
helped energy stocks.
Another U.S. interest rate hike "may not be far off," St.
Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Thursday,
the latest Fed official to speak in support of rate hikes this
year after the Fed stood pat last week.
"That's caused the market to pull back a bit," said Allan
Small, a senior investment advisor at HollisWealth.
But while the Canadian index ended in the red, it pared much
of its early losses on a recovery in the price of oil after a
renewed drop in U.S. oil rigs. O/R
"The reversal coincided with the rig count in the U.S. that
came out," Small said. "That's helped; the price of oil has come
back a little bit and so have some markets."
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE ended down 21.37 points, or 0.16 percent, at
13,358.11. It touched its lowest since March 7 at 13,255.47.
The energy group climbed 0.9 percent, with Canadian Natural
Resources CNQ.TO adding 1.3 percent to C$35.22, Suncor Energy
Inc SU.TO up 0.8 percent at C$35.86 and pipeline operator
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO up 0.6 percent to C$49.57.
The most influential weights were bank stocks, including
Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO , which fell 1.3 percent to C$73.97,
and Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO , which declined 1.3 percent to
C$62.42. The heavily weighted financials group fell 1 percent.
"We've seen a pretty good run in the banks back to a more
respectable price level," HollisWealth's Small said. "I think
they still have more room to run up and I would be a buyer
definitely if this weakness continues."
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO will face a class-action U.S.
lawsuit regarding its now halted Pascua-Lama gold-mine project
on the border of Argentina and Chile.
Nonetheless, the stock rose 2.4 percent to C$17.96 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 0.7 percent.
Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO gained 0.8 percent to C$1.33 after
a company executive said talks with the Canadian government
about financial support are "going well".
Canadian Pacific Railway CP.TO declined 0.4 percent to
C$171.15 after it was sued by a grain trading company over 2013
and 2014 service disruptions.