(Adds portfolio manager comment, updates prices to close)
* TSX ends up 39.48 points, or 0.28 percent, at 14,277.88
* Eight of TSX's 10 main groups gain, hefty resource stocks
fall
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index gained
on Friday, but the rise was limited by continued weakness in
mining and oil and gas shares.
Eight of the 10 main sectors on the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE advanced, though advancers
barely outnumbered decliners in low-volume trade and the index
still notched a 0.2 percent weekly decline as weak crude oil
prices weigh.
"Toronto is directionless with a downward bias," said Norman
Levine, managing director at Portfolio Management Corp. "It's
long overdue and welcome. We've got stuff we want to buy. We're
getting closer to when we're going to do that."
The index ended up 39.48 points, or 0.28 percent, at
14,277.88, losing momentum as U.S. crude prices hit fresh
6-1/2-year lows before settling barely higher at $42.50 a
barrel. O/R
Levine said widely owned Crescent Point Energy Corp's
CPG.TO sudden cut to what had been considered an ironclad
dividend earlier in the week was weighing on the shares of its
peers as investors questioned whether more cuts were to come.
"One should be wary of chasing dividend stocks in resource
areas because they can't be counted upon in good times and bad
like non-cyclical companies," he said.
Crescent Point itself fell 5.4 percent to C$16.64, Cenovus
Energy Inc CVE.TO lost 2.5 percent to C$17.74, and Canadian
Natural Resources CNQ.TO fell 1.5 percent to C$30.50. Oil and
gas stocks as a whole retreated 0.6 percent.
Another big index drag was Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO , which
sank 7.5 percent to C$1.35, its lowest level since 1993. Fitch
downgraded the plane and train maker was downgraded on Thursday,
adding pressure to a company which has faced an uphill battle
winning over the aviation industry with its CSeries jetliner.
The hefty financials group climbed 0.6 percent, helped by
Royal Bank of Canada's RY.TO 0.8 percent gain to C$75.97. Bank
of Montreal BMO.TO rose 1.1 percent to C$72.93.
"Despite the volatility this week, I'm kind of impressed by
how well the Canadian market has held together," said Julie
Brough, vice president at Morgan Meighen & Associates, noting
that most stocks outside natural resources were stable despite
the overall rout.
A slew of positive economic data from the United States in
recent days also helped sooth markets rattled by China's
devaluation of the yuan at the start of the week.