(Adds analyst quotes, details on Bombardier, consumer staples,
telecoms and Valeant, updates prices)
* TSX ended down 114.01 points, or 0.8 percent, at
13,379.48.
* Seven of TSX's 10 main groups ended lower
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, March 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
on Wednesday to a one-week low as lower commodity prices
pressured energy and mining stocks, while insider trading
charges sank the shares of Amaya Inc AYA.TO .
The energy group fell 3.1 percent, while the materials
group, which includes precious and base metals miners and
fertilizer companies, tumbled 4.6 percent.
Spot gold XAU= fell more than 2 percent to a four-week low
after hawkish comments by U.S. Federal Reserve officials.
GOL/
"The capital that had gone into safe havens yesterday has
come back out today," said Colin Cieszynski, senior market
analyst at CMC Markets Canada.
The most influential shares on the Canadian index included
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO , which fell 7.2 percent to C$17.54.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd FM.TO fell 16.3 percent to
C$6.92 and Teck Resources Ltd TCKb.TO dropped 13.4 percent to
C$9.65, as copper and other metal prices moved lower. MET/L
U.S. crude CLc1 prices fell more than 4 percent after U.S.
stockpiles soared to record highs for a sixth straight week,
triple analysts' expectations. O/R
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO fell 3.5 percent to
C$34.77, while Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO was down nearly 2
percent at C$35.57.
Shares of gambling website operator Amaya plunged more than
20 percent to C$14.75 after its chief executive was charged with
insider trading by Quebec's securities regulator.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE closed down 114.01 points, or 0.8 percent, at
13,379.48. It touched its lowest since March 15 at 13,364.98.
Seven of the index's 10 main groups ended lower.
Talks between planemaker Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO and the
Canadian government about financial support are "going well," a
company executive said.
Nonetheless, the company's shares fell 5 percent to C$1.32.
Among the sectors that advanced, consumer staples rose 1
percent, including a 3 percent gain in the shares of
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc ATDb.TO to C$57.53, while telecom
advanced 0.5 percent.
"You're seeing a bit of a defensive rotation in Canada, with
the resource sectors getting hammered," said Cieszynski.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX) VRX.TO rose for
a third straight day, up 6.5 percent at C$44.16.
The stock has benefited from a "trading bounce," according
to Cieszynski. It hit a five-year low on Monday following a
spate of negative news.