(Adds details on sectors and stocks, updates prices)
* TSX fell 78.04 points, or 0.56 percent, to 13,873.41
* Six of the TSX's 10 main groups were lower
TORONTO, May 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on
Monday as lower oil prices weighed on energy stocks, offsetting
a jump in the shares of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc MBT.TO
on news of the company's acquisition by BCE Inc BCE.TO .
The most influential movers on the index included Suncor
Energy Inc, which fell 2.4 percent to C$35.94, and Canadian
Natural Resources Ltd, which declined 1.5 percent to C$37.10.
The overall energy group retreated 1.8 percent.
Crude prices fell as data showing higher Middle East oil
production and record hedge fund buying sparked profit-taking on
last month's outsized rally. U.S. crude CLc1 prices were down
1.4 percent at $45.29 a barrel. O/R
Gold stocks retreated as gold eased back below $1,300 after
having made a fresh 15-month peak. GOL/
Goldcorp Inc G.TO fell 2.1 percent to C$24.74, while
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO was down 0.5 percent at C$24.16.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX) VRX.TO fell more
than 10 percent to C$37.59, while the overall healthcare group
was down 3.4 percent.
The financials group fell 0.5 percent.
At 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE fell 78.04 points, or 0.56
percent, to 13,873.41. Six of the index's 10 main groups were
lower.
The index ended 3.4 percent higher for the month of April,
and has rebounded 20 percent from an almost 3-1/2-year low in
January, though it has been unable to climb back above 14,000.
Telecom and media company BCE Inc said it would buy Manitoba
Telecom Services Inc for about C$3.1 billion to expand in the
western Canadian province. Manitoba Telecom jumped 15.7 percent
to C$38.00, while BCE was up 0.2 percent at C$58.97.
The overall telecoms group rose 4.2 percent.
Shares of Air Canada rose 5.4 percent to C$9.83. It follows
a 12.7 percent advance on Friday after the company reported a
first-quarter profit compared with a loss a year earlier, helped
by a decline in fuel costs.