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TSX ends down 3.11 points at 24,562.55

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Posts sixth decline in seven trading days

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Utilities sector falls 1.8%

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Materials group adds 1.5% as gold rises

(Updates throughout at market close)

By Fergal Smith

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-linked main stock

index ended slightly lower on Tuesday as the price of oil added

to the previous day's sharp decline and increased long-term

borrowing costs weighed on interest-rate sensitive stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 3.11

points, or 0.01%, at 24,562.55, its sixth decline in seven

trading days since notching a record closing high.

The Canadian 10-year yield touched a three-month high at

3.320% before pulling back to 3.270%, with the market tracking

moves in U.S. Treasury yields before the U.S. presidential

election next Tuesday.

"Treasury yields in the U.S. are still creeping up so that

can hit the interest rate-sensitive sectors," said Colin

Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

The utilities sector, which includes high-dividend paying

stocks that become less attractive as bond yields rise, fell

1.8%, while real estate was down 0.4% and financials ended 0.2%

lower.

Energy lost 0.7% as the price of oil settled 0.25%

lower at $67.21 a barrel on a report that Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a meeting for a diplomatic solution

to the war in Lebanon.

The materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and

metal mining shares, helped limit the market's decline. It rose

1.5% as the price of gold climbed to a record high.