* TSX down 9.75 points, or 0.07 percent, to 13,024.63
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups were lower
TORONTO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index dipped
on Tuesday, including losses for financial sector shares, while
energy stocks seesawed despite a rally in crude oil prices and
mining stocks rose.
The most influential movers on the index were Royal Bank of
Canada, which fell 0.8 percent to C$73.94, and Bank of Montreal
BMO.TO which was 1.1 percent lower at C$77.82.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO rose 0.2 percent
to C$43.73. Australia's antitrust regulator said it will
consider a watered down version of the infrastructure giant's
$6.5 billion bid for freight firm Asciano Ltd, reviving the
prospect of a deal.
The overall financial services sector fell 0.6 percent.
At 10:58 a.m. EST (1558 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE fell 9.75 points, or 0.07
percent, to 13,024.63, with eight of the index's 10 main groups
in negative territory.
Dominion Diamond Corp DDC.TO surged 22.5 percent to
C$14.06. It said it looked forward to having an open dialogue
with a group of investors led by Canadian hedge fund K2, who
believe that the diamond miner's policies have unduly hurt its
share price.
Centerra Gold CG.TO fell 2.6 percent to C$7.00 after
Kyrgyzstan's government said it had stopped talks with the
company on restructuring their joint Kumtor project because the
current agreement "ran counter to the country's national
interests."
The overall materials group rose 0.7 percent.
Energy stocks rose 0.2 percent, led by pipeline companies.
TransCanada Corp TRP.TO rose 1.8 percent to C$45.46, while
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO was up 1.2 percent at C$44.10.
In contrast, Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO fell 0.6 percent to
C$35.49.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices were up 1.2 percent to $36.23 a
barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 added 0.3 percent to
$36.45. O/R
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (N:VRX) VRX.TO rose 2.2
percent to C$155.35.