(Adds portfolio manager comment, details from early trade)
* TSX falls 171.72 points, or 1.22 percent, to 13,959.66
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups down
* Material group up 2.5 pct as gold miners surge
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, June 24 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
more than 1 percent on Friday after Britain voted to leave the
European Union, a more muted retreat than in Europe and the
United States as gold miners benefited from investors fleeing to
the safety of bullion.
The heavyweight financials group lost 2.3 percent, with
Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO down 2.4 percent at C$77.80 and
Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO slumping 5.4 percent to
C$17.73.
The blow to investor confidence and the uncertainty
unleashed by the Brexit vote could keep the U.S. Federal Reserve
from raising interest rates as planned this year, and even spark
a new round of emergency policy easing from major central banks.
Gold miners surged, accounting for nine of the index's 10
most influential gains, as investors piled into bullion,
considered a lower risk asset to hold in uncertain times.
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO jumped 5.4 percent to C$26.02,
Goldcorp Inc G.TO advanced 5.1 percent to C$23.61, and gold
miners accounted for nine of the 10 most influential gains on
the index.
At 10:40 a.m. EDT (1440 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 171.72 points, or
1.22 percent, to 13,959.66. Eight of its 10 main sectors fell,
with three decliners for every gainer.
That compared with a 5 percent fall in a pan-European index
and greater than 2 percent retreats on U.S. exchanges. .EU .N
"A lot of what's occurring here is still very much focused
in the eurozone, we don't think this dramatically changes the
outcome for North America," said Stephen Carlin, head of
equities and portfolio manager at CIBC Asset Management.
Carlin said CIBC funds had broadly added gold exposure as a
hedge against the risk of British referendum, but that further
upside for the precious metal was likely limited.
"As the price of gold moves up here, we're probably more
inclined to take money off the table," he said.
Gold soared as much as 8 percent to its highest in more than
two years after the vote, while in sterling and euro terms it
jumped even more as both currencies sunk. GOL/
The TSX's materials group, which includes precious and base
metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 2.3 percent.
Utilities recorded a 0.4 percent gain.
CIBC's Carlin said that with the Fed and other central banks
likely to keep interest rates on hold, he likes high-yielding
pipeline, telecom, utility and real estate stocks.