(Adds analyst comment, updates prices to close)
* TSX ends down 51.72 points, or 0.36 percent, at 14,414.67
* Seven of TSX's 10 main groups drop
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Canada's resource-laden main
stock index fell back on Tuesday, as oil and mining stocks were
hit by a rout in commodity prices following China's unexpected
move to devalue its currency.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE sank as much as 1.4 percent before paring those losses
to close down 51.72 points, or 0.36 percent, at 14,414.67. Seven
of the 10 main sectors lost ground.
The People's Bank of China devalued the yuan by nearly 2
percent overnight in China's latest attempt to bolster its
economy following a string of poor economic data.
ID:nL3N10M1PP
"It's created more negativity," said Brian Pow, an equity
analyst at Acumen Capital Partners in Calgary. "We've seen it in
the oil price getting pushed down hard."
Prices for copper, aluminum and U.S. crude oil hit six-year
lows on concerns the cheaper yuan will make importing
commodities more expensive for China, which is among the world's
top consumers of resources.
Energy stocks fell 0.8 percent, with Crescent Point Energy
Corp CPG.TO down 4.9 percent at C$18.02 and Encana Corp
ECA.TO off 2.5 percent to C$9.50.
Others were more sanguine about the Chinese move, as the
state-run economy's slowing growth is managed from above.
"China's probably going to have a 5 or 6 percent growth
rate. It's a managed economy. It's not your free enterprise
economy, and they will get their growth one way or another,"
said David Cockfield, portfolio manager at Northland Wealth
Management.
"I just don't see a huge impact," he said. "It's probably
wise on their part to do that if they want to keep (their
economic growth) at 5 or 6 percent."
Over the longer term, Dollarama Inc DOL.TO and other
retailers that import from China could profit from a cheaper
yuan.
Volatility will remain part of the current market pattern,
said Cockfield, who expressed optimism that Canada's economic
fundamentals are solid and the country will benefit from a
robust U.S. economy, even as oil continues to struggle.
Other top decliners included Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO ,
which lost 0.9 percent to C$76.61. The financial group was off
0.64 percent.
Bucking the trend were gold miners, many of which benefited
from a safe-haven rebound in bullion XAU= prices following the
yuan move.
($1=$1.31 Canadian)