May 17 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, as Chinese media took a tough stance on the trade war between the United States and China, reviving fears of a global economic slowdown.
* At 9:42 a.m. ET (1342 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index .GSPTSE was down 36.94 points, or 0.22%, at 16,406.92.
* The trade war with the United States will only make China stronger and will never bring the country to its knees, the Communist Party's People's Daily wrote in a front page commentary. Eight of the index's 11 major sectors were lower, led by the energy sector .SPTTEN which fell 0.7%.
* Oil prices swung between losses and gains in the face of supply cuts and concern over further disruption to Middle East shipments. O/R
* Global equities were also hit by a fresh bout of selling as U.S.-China trade tensions heightened while bets on a new pro-Brexit leader in Britain sent the pound sliding to its worst week in well over a year. MKTS/GLOB
* The financials sector .SPTTFS slipped 0.4% while the industrials .GSPTTIN rose 0.2%.
* Gains among industrials were powered by a 1% rise in shares of Air Canada AC.TO on its bid to buy Canadian tour operator Transat AT TRZ.TO which would boost its leisure travel business at a time when the company faces a potential turnaround in rival WestJet Airlines WJA.TO . On the TSX, 72 issues were higher, while 158 issues declined for a 2.19-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 13.19 million shares traded.
* The largest percentage gainer on the TSX were shares of Cae Inc CAE.TO , which jumped 6.1%.
* Northview Apartment REIT NVU_u.TO fell 2.9%, the most on the TSX.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aurora Cannabis ACB.TO , Prometic Life Sciences Inc PLI.TO and Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO .
* The TSX posted seven new 52-week highs and three new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues there were 17 new 52-week highs and seven new lows, with total volume of 23.19 million shares.