* TSX down 214.75 points, or 1.61 percent, to 13,127.18
* All of the TSX's 10 main groups fall
By Fergal Smith
TORONTO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index
tumbled to its lowest closing level in six weeks on Thursday, as
pressure on commodities and cyclical resource stocks spilled
over to other sectors, including deep losses for financials.
"The market wants to go down and this commodity thing is
really hurting," said John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell
Securities Ltd, suggesting also that the wave of comments from
U.S. Federal Reserve officials has not helped.
He added "it's probably hurting the banks as well because
they would have big loans," noting that the oil companies' loan
facilities get reviewed once a year, in the fall.
The financials group fell 1.6 percent, while the energy
group plunged 2.3 percent as the TSX had its sharpest drop since
Oct. 30.
The most influential stock on the index was Valeant
Pharmaceuticals International Inc VRX.TO , which dropped 6.2
percent to C$98.14.
Valeant's stock has slumped from well above C$300 in
September amid sharp scrutiny of its business practices.
Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO fell 3.7 percent to C$21.60
after Canada's biggest insurer reported a lower-than-expected
quarterly profit on oil and gas investment losses.
Among bank stocks, Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO was most
influential, falling 1.3 percent.
Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO fell 2.4 percent. The company sent
a letter to the shareholders of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd arguing
why they should accept its takeover offer.
At the close, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite
index .GSPTSE was down 214.75 points, or 1.61 percent, to
13,127.18, with all ten of the index's 10 main groups in
negative territory.
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO provided the biggest lift to the
market, rising 4.1 percent after it said it will sell its stake
in four non-core assets in Nevada for $720 million, putting the
company on track to meet its 2015 debt-reduction target.
Gildan Activewear Inc rallied almost 5 percent after
announcing third quarter results and updating full year
guidance.
Canadian Tire CTCa.TO rose 2.1 percent after the retailer
reported earnings that beat expectations.
Encana Corp ECA.TO rose 1.8 percent after the natural gas
producer posted a smaller-than-expected loss. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1373WQ
U.S. crude CLc1 prices settled at $41.75 a barrel, down
2.75 percent, trading at its lowest in more than two months
after data showed U.S. stockpiles are still rising, while Brent
crude LCOc1 lost 3.7 percent to $44.14. O/R
Gold futures GCc1 fell 0.4 percent to $1,086.6 an ounce.
GOL/
Copper prices CMCU3 declined 2.4 percent to $4,823.5 a
tonne. MET/L