TSX falls as in-line Scotiabank leads banks lower

By Alastair Sharp

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index fell on Tuesday, its fifth straight losing session, as Bank of Nova Scotia led losses in the heavyweight financial banking sector after reporting quarterly earnings in line with expectations.

Scotiabank shares fell 2.8 percent to C$77.04, while rival Bank of Montreal rose 2.2 percent to C$100.79 after its numbers smashed past analyst estimates and it announced a major share buyback plan.

The financials group, which accounts for 35 percent of the index's weight, fell 0.7 percent overall.

"The short of it is, the banks have done really well, they're now delivering on the earnings ... now how do you follow that when you're already trading at a historical premium valuation?" said Luciano Orengo, a portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index settled down 64.27 points, or 0.42 percent, at 15,399.24.

It slipped 0.1 percent in February, after hitting a record high mid-month.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc slumped 13.9 percent to C$18.89 after saying that 2017 would be another year of transition with revenue falling as much as 8 percent amid drug price pressure and fewer prescriptions.

"If you're buying Valeant at these levels, you're expecting some sort of upside and that was not delivered," Orengo said.

Gold miners lost some of their early luster in afternoon trade along with bullion prices ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's policy speech to a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. EST.[GOL/]

Gold royalty and stream company Franco-Nevada Corp rose 1.9 percent to C$85.61 and Tahoe Resources Inc advanced 5.7 percent to C$11.26.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.3 percent.

Utilities eked out a 0.1 percent gain, while the other eight of 10 main groups ended in negative territory.

The energy group retreated 0.3 percent, as oil prices dipped within a tight recent range as increasing crude production from the United States offset OPEC-led output cuts. [O/R]

Pipeline company Enbridge Inc fell 0.8 percent to C$55.90 and Cenovus Energy Inc lost 2.2 percent to C$16.80.

TransCanada Corp bucked the trend, with the pipeline company adding 0.9 percent to C$61.06 after agreeing on Monday to sell two U.S. pipelines to fund other projects.

Canadian producer prices rose for the fifth month in a row in January, increasing 0.4 percent from December on higher prices for energy and petroleum products, Statistics Canada said.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Alan Crosby)