TSX ends down 0.4% at 26,903.57
Materials group falls 3.5% as gold price declines
Tech loses 0.9% with Shopify down 3.4%
Energy adds 2.1% as oil settles 0.6% higher
Updates at market close
By Fergal Smith
July 8 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday for a second straight day as a drop in gold prices weighed on metal mining shares and after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose a hefty tariff on copper imports.
The S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended down 116.71 points, or 0.4%, at 26,903.57, extending its pullback from a record closing high on Friday.
Trump said he will announce a 50% tariff on copper later in the day, aiming to boost U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. Canada is among the top suppliers of copper to the United States.
U.S. copper futures HGc1 jumped more than 10%, but gold XAU= was down 1%.
"We've got gold off and that's keeping the miners down," said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
"Gold being down is outweighing any benefit from copper being up and I think also the market could just be reacting in a knee jerk fashion to what Trump is saying."
The materials group, which includes metal mining shares, fell 3.5%. Technology was also a drag, losing 0.9%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify SHOP.TO down 3.4%.
Not all sectors lost ground. Energy added 2.1% as the price of oil settled 0.6% higher at $68.33 a barrel on forecasts for less U.S. oil production and after renewed Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Communication stocks were another bright spot, with BCE BCE.TO Inc rising 2.7% and Rogers Communications Inc RCIb.TO ending 1.4% higher.
(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
((Sukriti.Gupta@thomsonreuters.com;))