(Adds analyst comment, updates prices to close)
* TSX ends up 85.66 points, or 0.60 percent, at 14,468.44
* Index gained 3.3 pct on week; off 0.6 pct in July
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, July 31 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index
notched its fourth straight day of gains on Friday, with the
heavily weighted financials and materials sectors leading the
way as investors sought value after a bleak couple of months.
The index had slipped below 14,000 for the first time since
mid-January last week, as investors fretted about slumping oil
prices and slowing Chinese demand for commodities.
It fell 0.6 percent in July, after a 3 percent decline in
June.
But banking stocks shook off those fears, coupled with short
bets that a stretched housing market could hurt them, gaining
0.4 percent.
"The whole 'shorting Canada' is usually a short-term
phenomena, because let's face it, our financial sector has been
a great place to be invested over the long term," said Julie
Brough, vice president at Morgan Meighen & Associates.
Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO rose 0.7 percent to C$76.27,
and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM.TO gained 0.9
percent to C$93.36.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE added 3.3 percent on the week, closing up 85.66
points, or 0.60 percent, at 14,468.44.
The rise came despite losses in oil and gas stocks, which
were hurt by a drop in crude prices after output numbers showed
OPEC producers were pumping near record levels into an already
oversupplied market. O/R
ARC Resources Ltd ARX.TO lost 3.7 percent to C$19.57, and
Crescent Point Energy Corp CPG.TO fell 1.9 percent to C$19.81.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 3.6 percent to $46.79 a barrel, while
Brent LCOc1 lost 3 percent to $51.70. O/R
Solid results helped pipeline operators, however, with
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO up 1.3 percent at C$57.01 and TransCanada
Corp TRP.TO adding 0.9 percent to C$50.83.
ID:nL3N10B4QO ID:nL3N10B4RN
"You'll get some trading rallies, but it's going to be very
hard to create a sustained period of strength in the energy
sector," Brough said.
The mining-heavy materials group gained 2.8 percent, with
shares of Goldcorp Inc G.TO jumping 6 percent to C$17.45 and
Agrium Inc AGU.TO adding 2.2 percent to C$133.80.
"We've really taken a beating here in Toronto in the last
little while," said Rick Hutcheon, president of RKH Investments.
"People are beginning to troll for stocks that appear to
have some lasting long-term structural value, good management.
... At some stage, things fall to a point at which value starts
to surface and we may be there."
Gildan Activewear GIL.TO was the most influential loser,
falling 7.6 percent to C$42.18 after the clothing maker's
quarterly results fell short of expectations.
($1=$1.30 Canadian)