(Updates at market close)

* TSX ends down 0.8% at 35,226.14

* For the month, the index adds 1.1%

* Materials group falls 3% on lower gold prices

* Telus ( TU ) shares tumble 11.3% as company posts Q2 loss

By Sudeshna Ghoshal and Fergal Smith

TORONTO, July 31 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell

on Friday as a drop in gold prices weighed on metal mining

shares, but the index still posted its fourth straight monthly

gain.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index

ended down 279.70 points, or 0.8%, at 35,226.14. For

July, the index was up 1.1%, led by energy shares.

* The materials group, which includes metal mining shares,

fell 3%. The price of gold was down 1.3% as the U.S.

dollar rebounded from a more than one-month low hit in

the previous session.

* Technology was also a drag, falling 2.6%. Shares of Telus ( TU )

tumbled 11.3% after the company reported a second-quarter

loss and reset its quarterly dividend, cutting the annualized

payout by 55% to focus on debt reduction.

* Four of the 10 major sectors ended higher, including

energy. It added 0.6%, lifting its monthly gain to

more than 16%.

* "Energy had a nice run," said Michael Constantino, CEO of

Webull Canada. "It is an opportunity as well for clients to take

some money off the table and shift."

* U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.3% higher at

$84.67 a barrel as reports that some tankers were forced to turn

around in the Strait of Hormuz prompted traders to reassess

shipping flows through the key waterway.

* Imperial Oil ( IMO ), Enbridge ( ENB ) and TC Energy ( TRP )

all beat second-quarter profit estimates.

* Retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard said it plans

to buy Poland's Zabka for about $8.7 billion. Shares of

Couche-Tard were up 1.4%.

* Preliminary data pointed to Canada's economy growing by

3.4% in the second quarter on an annualized basis, which would

be stronger than the Bank of Canada has forecast.

* Industrials rose 0.5% and heavily

weighted financials ended 0.2% higher.