TSX lower as energy stocks, Valeant weigh
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped on Wednesday as slumping oil prices weighed on the heavyweight energy sector and embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc also fell. Valeant lost 5.5 percent to close at C$104.66 a share after a U.S. judge ruled it and one of its investors must face a lawsuit accusing them of insider trading. The company is facing intense scrutiny of its drug pricing policies and allegations about its relationship with a related pharmacy. A decline in oil prices, with U.S. crude settling down 2.9 percent, fueled the retreat in the energy sector. "Energy is trading off today given what we saw overnight in China's industrial numbers," said Manash Goswami, a portfolio manager at First Asset Investment Management Inc. China's factory output growth hit a seven-month low in October while investment expansion slipped to its weakest pace since 2000. "It's hard to see the commodities do much better until we start to see more global growth coming through," Goswami said. Suncor Energy Inc lost 2.4 percent to C$38.19, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd gave back 2.3 percent to C$31.71. Goswami said his firm had added to their telecom, real estate and pipeline exposure recently to take advantage of still attractive yields that investors have discounted in the face of a pending Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> ended down 69.70 points, or 0.52 percent, at 13,341.93. The energy group fell 3 percent, while industrials, materials and utilities also weighed. (Additional reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and James Dalgleish)
