(Updates throughout with fresh details, analyst comment, market
reaction)
* TSX down 327.49 points, or 2.36 percent, at 13,531.63
* All 10 of index's main groups in the red
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
more than 2 percent on Tuesday as the latest disappointing
economic data from China spurred another round of selling in
global markets and sent commodity prices lower.
Ongoing worries over China's impact on the global economy
resurfaced after data showed its manufacturing sector shrank at
the fastest pace in three years, while the services sector also
cooled.
"A correction is never easy," said Michael Sprung, president
at Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel. "What we're seeing is just
volatility created by reverberations of people digesting all of
this information."
Sprung expects the volatility to continue into the fall as
China jitters and speculation over when and if the Federal
Reserve will hike interest rates remain, noting that September
and October also tend to be seasonally weak months.
The most influential decliners on the index included Royal
Bank of Canada RY.TO , which sank 2.8 percent to C$71.26, and
Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO , which gave up 2.6 percent to
C$51.12.
Financial shares, which make up roughly a third of the
index's weight, fell 2.7 percent.
At 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 327.49 points, or
2.36 percent, to 13,531.63.
"Within this environment, it's opening a lot of
opportunities for investors," said Sprung, adding that investors
should be making bids on well-managed companies with good
balance sheets.
All 10 of the index's main sectors were mired in losses,
with every oil and gas name within the energy group taking a
hit. The group sank 3.7 percent, hurt by volatile oil prices
that tumbled more than 6 percent after having soared some 25
percent over the previous 3 sessions. O/R
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO lost 4.1 percent to
C$28.44, while Encana Corp stumbled 5.8 percent to C$9.26.
Consumer staples was the only key group whose losses were
under 1 percent. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on
the TSX by 220 to 21, for a 10.48-to-1 ratio on the downside.