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TSX ends down 0.3% at 21,639.10

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For the week, the index falls 1.7%

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Consumer staples falls 1.6%

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Tech gains 0.9%, with Shopify ( SHOP ) up 4.6%

(Updates at market close)

By Fergal Smith

June 14 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to a

three-month low on Friday, extending recent underperformance

versus U.S. markets, as investors shunned the financial and

energy shares that have a heavy weighting in the index in favor

of technology shares.

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

ended down 59.01 points, or 0.3%, at 21,639.10, its

lowest closing level since March 6.

For the week, the index was down 1.7%, its biggest weekly

decline since October. It was the fourth straight weekly decline

for the TSX, which is the longest such stretch since May 2023.

"It looks like it's really diverging from the S&P 500 which

is closing out a very strong week," said Brian Madden,

chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc.

"Money is professionally managed and a lot of money chases

performance and performance is very much in the United States

and not in Canada."

The TSX is up 3.3% since the start of the year, falling well

below the 13.9% gain for the S&P 500 which has a higher

weighting in high-flying technology shares.

The U.S. benchmark closed slightly lower on Friday but was

holding near the record closing high it posted on Thursday.

There is "good leadership from the technology group in the

States. Canada, despite Shopify's ( SHOP ) best efforts today, is not

really enough to hold up our whole market."

The Toronto market's technology sector rose 0.9%,

with e-commerce company Shopify Inc ( SHOP ) up 4.6%.

But most major sectors ended lower, with financials

, which account for 29% of the index's weighting, down

0.5% and energy, which has a 20% weighting, falling

0.7%.

The price of oil settled 0.2% lower at $78.45 a

barrel, giving back some of its weekly advance.

Defensive sectors also lost ground, with consumer staples

down 1.6% and communication services

ending 1.2% lower.