June 29 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Monday as lower gold prices weighed on metal mining shares, but the market remained on course for another quarterly gain.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index (.GSPTSE), ended down 156.18 points, or 0.5%, at 34,823.82. For the second quarter, the TSX was headed for a gain of 6.3%. That would be its eighth straight quarterly advance, marking the longest such stretch since 1996.
"I think now we're just in this sideways mode where we're trying to see what the narrative for the second half of the year is," said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management. "We've still got this concern around higher oil and inflation and what the Fed is going to think."
The price of oil settled 2.2% higher at $70.75 a barrel after attacks by the U.S. and Iran underscored the fragility of their interim peace deal, while cautious hopes of a continued recovery in energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz limited gains.
Investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as soon as September to fight inflation.
The materials group (.GSPTTMT), which includes metal mining shares, fell 1.1%. The price of gold was down 1.8%, moving toward the bottom of its range since November.
"Everyone is going to be watching to see if there is any rebound in the commodities and some sort of pause in the U.S. dollar move which has been extreme," Taylor said.
Consumer discretionary (.GSPTTCD), fell 1%, with shares of apparel retailer Aritzia Inc (ATZ.TO), down 2.9%, while consumer staples (.GSPTTCS), ended 1.7% lower.
Just two of the 10 major sectors ended higher, including heavily weighted financials (.SPTTFS), which added 0.3%.
Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Sruthi Shankar and Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru: Editing by Tasim Zahid and Nick Zieminski
