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TSX rising streak snapped as resource shares retreat

A man walks past an old Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) sign in Toronto, June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, snapping a five-session streak of gains as investors pulled back from mining and oil and gas companies and banks also dropped. With bullion prices hitting a five-year low, Canada's gold miners featured prominently in the loss column. Franco-Nevada Corp gave up 3.4 percent to C$55.75 and Goldcorp Inc fell 6.1 percent to C$19.10. The index's materials sector, which includes miners, fell 2.8 percent. [GOL/] The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> lost 88.24 points, or 0.60 percent, to close at 14,642.84. It gained 1.6 percent over the week, with financial shares accounting for much of the gains. Market watchers expect further volatility as a range of factors vie for attention in coming weeks and months. "As investors try to digest all these different pieces of the puzzle, from the Fed rate hike to the Bank of Canada rate cut, China to Greece to earnings, we're going to see a lot more of these weeks where it's up, up, down, up, up, down," said Craig Fehr, Canadian market strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis, Missouri. Of the index's 10 main sectors, six gained, but their moderate advances were canceled out by larger losses in the three most influential sectors: energy, financials and materials. The energy group fell 2 percent, with Paramount Resources Ltd giving up 8 percent to C$22.93. "The energy sector is a big drag on the market today and that continues to face headwinds," said Fergal Smith, managing market strategist at Action Economics. "Crude oil is under renewed pressure with its threat of new supply, so another lag lower in crude oil would be a big headwind for the market." Financials lost 0.5 percent as Royal Bank of Canada declined 0.8 percent to C$77.30 and National Bank of Canada fell 1.4 percent to C$46.20. "It's profit-taking after a good run this week...after the July trough," Smith said. "Risk appetite has improved broadly with Chinese stocks having stabilized and Greece having reached a deal with its creditors." Declining issues outnumbered advancers by 162 to 86 for a 1.88-to-1 ratio on the downside. The index posted eight new 52-week highs and 22 new lows. (With additional reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Peter Galloway)