(Updates throughout with market action, analyst comment,
details)
* TSX down 34.8 points, or 0.24 percent, to 14,304.73
* Four of the TSX's 10 main groups fall
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
for a third straight session on Thursday as weaker commodity
prices squeezed energy and mining shares but the drop was
cushioned by a Chinese central bank assurance that there was no
reason for the yuan to fall further.
This week's devaluation of the Chinese currency had pulled
down commodity prices on concern that China would not be able to
import as much.
Putting more pressure on the market was retailer Canadian
Tire Corp CTCa.TO , the only one of the index's 30 biggest
decliners that was not a financial, mining or oil and gas stock.
Canadian Tire tumbled 5.0 percent to C$124 after it reported a
lower-than-expected quarterly profit on slower sales growth.
"If we had to make a guesstimate, we're still in a narrow
range going forward," said Sid Mokhtari, market technician and
director, institutional equity research, CIBC World Markets.
"It's probably going to be challenging over the next few
months. We're watching volatility very carefully."
Financial stocks, which make up roughly a third of the
index, weighed heavily, hurt in part by Canada's low
interest-rate environment and by banks' ties to the battered oil
and gas industry, Mokhtari said.
Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO fell 0.7 percent to C$52.23.
The overall financials group, which also includes life insurance
companies, retreated 0.4 percent.
At 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was off 34.8 points, or 0.24
percent, at 14,304.73.
Only four of the TSX's 10 main groups were down, but they
included financials, energy and materials. The three sectors
combined make up roughly two thirds of the index's weight.
Energy stocks stumbled 2.1 percent as crude prices took
another beating. U.S. crude CLc1 lost 2.5 percent to $42.22 a
barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 was down 1.2 percent to
$49.07.
In the group, Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO declined
2.8 percent to C$31.06, while Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO fell 1.0
percent to C$37.13.
The materials sector, home to miners, gave up 1.5 percent,
with gold miners leading the losses. Goldcorp Inc G.TO sank
3.2 percent to C$19.15.
Gold futures GCc1 fell 0.8 percent to $1,114.40 an ounce,
snapping five sessions of gains as the U.S. dollar firmed on
U.S. economic data and easing concern over China's yuan. GOL/
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by 160 to 81,
for a nearly 2-to-1 ratio on the downside.
The index was posting five new 52-week highs and 12 new
lows.
($1=$1.31 Canadian)