Canadian stock market ends lower

Canada's main stock market in Toronto went down amid broad-based losses ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Friday.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/ TSX Composite Index fell 132.34 points, or 1.01 percent, to 13,009.95 points on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

Seven of the TSX index's eight main sectors lost ground.

Among consumer staples, the biggest tumbler, Metro Inc. lost 76 cents, or 1.9 percent, to 39.17 Canadian dollars a share.

In the financial sector, Royal Bank of Canada fell 1.4 percent to 74.54 Canadian dollars a share, while Toronto-Dominion Bank was down 1.2 percent at 54.33 Canadian dollars a share.

Railway stocks also headed lower, including a 2-percent drop in Canadian National Railway to 76.80 Canadian dollars a share.

Air Canada fell 0.5 percent to 10.17 Canadian dollars a share. Turbulence on the airline's flight from Shanghai to Toronto injured 21 passengers on Wednesday, forcing it to land in Calgary.

The materials group fell, including a 2.1 percent drop in Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc to 23.72 Canadian dollars a share.

Energy sector was Thursday's only gainer as oil prices moved up amid rising geopolitical tensions in Middle East.

The Toronto stock market will be closed on Friday for New Year's Day.

The Canadian dollar was traded higher at $0.7225, compared to Wednesday's closing at $0.7202.