(Adds quotes from portfolio managers, details; updates prices)
* TSX falls 120.38 points, or 0.92 percent, to 12,922.45
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups lose ground
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index on
Tuesday saw its weakest close in more than two years as
continued pressure on crude oil weighed on sentiment in the
resource-linked market.
"What started the day on the wrong foot was the November
trade data from China," said Ben Jang, portfolio manager at
Nicola Wealth Management, adding that slower economic growth
from China is weighing on global markets.
The drop in U.S. crude oil prices below $40 a barrel has
been taken as an indication that "global demand is weak,"
according to Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall,
MacDougall & MacTier.
Oil futures ended lower after plumbing near seven-year lows
on fear that global oil producers will pump even more crude in a
battle for market share in a saturated market.
The biggest weight on the index were the major banks, which
last week all reported a rise in bad loans in the energy sector
from a year earlier. Investors worried that this could turn into
more writedowns and losses.
Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO fell 1.5 percent to C$74.30,
while Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO was down 1.7 percent at
C$53.15. Insurer Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO lost 3.5
percent to C$21.07.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE closed down 120.38 points, or 0.92 percent, to
12,922.45, its weakest close since October 2013.
Intra-day, the market hit its weakest level since Aug. 24.
That August low came in the midst of a global market rout
that pulled Chinese stocks down 9 percent and sent commodity
prices tumbling. The S&P/TSX has been under 13,000 points only
once since then, and before that not since October 2013.
The overall financials group dropped 1.5 percent, while
industrials were down 1.7 percent and materials fell 1.2
percent.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd CP.TO declined 2.5 percent to
C$171.64 after it revised its bid for Norfolk Southern Corp (N:NSC)
NSC.N and was promptly rejected again.
Rival Canadian National Railway Co CNR.TO fell 1.4 percent
to C$72.98.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (N:VRX) VRX.TO added 2.5
percent to C$127.52. Reuters reported that the company was
seeking potential buyers for its specialty contact lens
manufacturing division, according to two sources.
The energy group gained 0.8 percent after plunging 5.9
percent on Monday.
U.S. crude oil CLc1 settled at $37.51 a barrel, down 0.37
percent, while Brent crude LCOc1 lost 1.3 percent to $40.2.
O/R