(Adds strategist comment, updates prices to close)
* TSX ends down 107.40 points, or 0.80 percent, at 13,383.69
* Eight of the TSX's 10 main groups fall
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
on Wednesday, following hefty losses in the previous session, as
tumbling crude prices and weak manufacturing data out of China
and the United States hurt the resource-rich index in low-volume
trade.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE fell 107.40 points, or 0.80 percent, to end the
session at 13,383.69.
Eight of its 10 main sectors fell, with the energy group
giving up 2.2 percent and both industrials and materials down
more than 1 percent.
The reports showed U.S. manufacturing growth stuck at a
two-year low in September and Chinese factory activity shrinking
to a 6-1/2 year low.
"What we're realizing here, as investors, is that the
fundamental backdrop is not as rosy as believed, and it
certainly doesn't justify the valuations we had," said John
Johnston, chief strategy officer at Davis-Rea.
Among the heaviest weights were fertilizer company Potash
Corp POT.TO , which fell 4.8 percent to C$27.93, and Canadian
National Railway Co CNR.TO , down 1.7 percent at C$73.39.
Johnston said he feared emerging markets would continue to
struggle, perhaps leading to a global recession next year that
would keep commodity prices low.
"I think Canada is very vulnerable," he said. "Our
concentration in the commodity sector is a risk."
More than a quarter of the index's weight is made up of oil
and gas companies and materials stocks.
TransCanada Corp TRP.TO fell 2.7 percent to C$43.70, while
Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO lost 2.9 percent to C$25.87.
U.S. crude CLc1 prices fell 3.5 percent to $44.73 a
barrel, while Brent LCOc1 lost 2.5 percent to $47.87. O/R
Financials also featured among the biggest drags, with Bank
of Nova Scotia BNS.TO dipping 1.1 percent to C$57.51 and
Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO declining 0.6 percent to C$51.19.
But volumes were low, with investors looking ahead to
earnings season and wary of a seasonally slow trading period.
"There's a listlessness out there, truthfully," said John
Stephenson, president at Stephenson & Company Capital
Management.
"Until we see an indication that (global growth) is getting
much worse, which would not be good for markets, or we see it
getting much better, I think we're essential range bound," he
said.
Domestically, Canadian retail sales rose for the third month
in a row in July, up 0.5 percent, fueled by new car and clothing
sales.
While the rise was expected from economists polled by
Reuters, sales were flat and below expectations when automotive
figures were excluded.