Dec 4(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, led by healthcare shares, while market sentiment was hurt by fading hopes of a swift resolution to the U.S.-China trade dispute.
* At 9:34 a.m. ET (14:34 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 41.76 points, or 0.27 percent, at 15,233.22.
* The healthcare sector .GSPTTHC fell 3.1 percent, the most among the 11 major sectors.
* Aphria Inc APHA.TO plunged over 20 percent, extending losses from the previous session. The cannabis producer defended its Latin American operations from claims in a short-seller report on Monday that the company had overpaid for assets. Bank of Montreal BMO.TO fell 1.1 percent, after Canada's fourth-biggest lender reported fourth-quarter earnings, ending a mixed earnings season for Canada's biggest banks. The financials sector .SPTTFS edged down 0.5 percent.
* The energy sector .SPTTEN dropped 0.1 percent as U.S. crude CLc1 prices pared gains to trade up 0.3 percent per barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 added 1 percent. O/R
* The materials sector .GSPTTMT , which includes precious and base metals miners and fertiliser companies, added 0.3 percent as gold futures GCc1 edged up 0.4 percent to $1,238.4 an ounce. GOL/ MET/L
* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Trican Well Service TCW.TO , which surged 9.9 percent as Raymond James raised rating on its stock to "strong buy" from "outperform".
* Second biggest gainer was Teck Resources B TECKb.TO , which rose 3.2 percent, after the mining company agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in its Quebrada Blanca copper mine expansion project in northern Chile to Japan's Sumitomo for $1.2 billion. Aphria Inc APHA.TO declined the most on the TSX, while the second biggest decliner was Osisko Gold Royalties OR.TO , down 3 percent.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Aphria Inc APHA.TO , Trican Well Svc TCW.TO and Aurora Cannabis ACB.TO .
* On the TSX, 73 issues were higher, while 165 issues declined for a 2.26-to-1 ratio to the downside, with volume touching 12.38 million shares.
* The TSX posted two new 52-week highs and four new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues, there were four new 52-week highs and 12 new lows, with total volume touching 18.71 million shares.