* TSX down 64.94 points, or 0.49 percent, to 13,282.52
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups were lower
TORONTO, April 7 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
on Thursday as lower oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while
the heavyweight financials group also fell as global shares
dipped and investor appetite for risk weakened.
The most influential movers on the index included
Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO , which fell 1.1 percent to
C$54.32, and Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO , which declined
3.0 percent to C$17.5.
The overall financials group slipped 0.9 percent.
The energy group retreated 1.7 percent as crude oil prices
fell. U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down 1.8 percent at $37.07 a
barrel.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd CNQ.TO declined 2.2 percent
to C$34.24, while Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO was down 1.2 percent
at C$35.31.
At 10:35 a.m. EDT (1435 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE fell 64.94 points, or 0.49
percent, to 13,282.52. Eight of the index's 10 main groups were
lower.
Materials and healthcare were the only sectors that
advanced.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.1 percent.
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO rallied 4.6 percent to C$19.12,
while Kinross Gold Corp K.TO was up 7.5 percent at C$5.02.
Spot gold XAU= jumped 1.6 percent amid uncertainty around
future U.S. interest rates increases, while a drop in global
shares rekindled investor appetite for safer assets. GOL/
The shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX)
VRX.TO rose more than 8 percent to C$48.40. The company said
its lenders had agreed to give it an extra month to file its
annual report, providing further reassurance to investors as the
company attempts to win back their confidence.