(Adds details throughout; updates prices to close)
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TSX ends down 36.82 points, or 0.2%, at 19,957.96
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Energy falls 2.3%; oil settles 1.5% lower
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Materials sector loses 1.3%
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Restaurant Brands gains 7%
TORONTO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index
fell on Wednesday as lower oil prices weighed on energy shares
but gains for consumer-related stocks helped limit the index's
decline.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
ended down 36.82 points, or 0.2%, at 19,957.96.
Still, the index has gained 2.7% since the beginning of the
month and is on track for its second straight month of gains as
investors welcome signs of decade-high inflation cooling.
Data on Wednesday showed Canada's annual inflation rate
holding steady at 6.9% in October, matching analyst forecasts,
while core inflation measures were mixed, leaving markets
betting on a smaller rate hike at the Bank of Canada's next
meeting.
The Toronto market's energy sector fell 2.3% as oil prices
settled 1.5% lower at $85.59 a barrel concerns over
rising COVID-19 cases in China.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.3%, while technology
ended 0.7% lower.
Consumer staples was a bright spot, rising 1.6%. It was
helped by a gain of 2.3% for Loblaw Cos Ltd after the
retailer raised its annual earnings forecast.
Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc ended
7% higher, helping drive the consumer discretionary sector to a
1.3% gain.
Industrials also gained ground, rising 1.4%.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Johann M
Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)