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The face of a trader is reflected on the screen of a terminal on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange September 29, 2014.LUCAS JACKSON/Reuters

Mining and energy stocks helped take the Toronto stock market lower amid weakness in the Canadian and Chinese economies.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 56.14 points to 14,920.78.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.25 of a cent to a fresh, six-month low of 89.41 cents (U.S.) as the greenback advanced against most major currencies.

Statistics Canada reported that gross domestic product was flat during the month of July following a 0.3 per cent rise in June. Economists had expected that GDP growth would come in at 0.2 per cent.

The agency says there were notable decreases in mining and oil and gas extraction during July.

U.S. indexes were little changed amid major corporate announcements with the Dow Jones industrials off 1.26 points to 17,069.96, the Nasdaq slipped 3.71 points to 4,502.14 while the S&P 500 index was off 1.55 points to 1,976.25.

HSBC Corp.'s monthly purchasing managers' index showed that China's manufacturing activity in September held steady at the previous month's low level, indicating the world's second-largest economy faces risks to growth. The index came in at 50.2. Anything below 50 indicates contraction.

Meanwhile, hopes for further stimulus from the European Central Bank rose after data showed that inflation across the 18 European Union countries that use the euro dipped further toward zero in September. Eurostat says that consumer prices in the euro zone rose only 0.3 per cent in the year to September against the previous month's 0.4 per cent.

On the corporate front, PayPal is splitting from eBay and will become a separate publicly traded company next year. eBay President and CEO John Donahoe said that "the industry landscape is changing, and each business faces different competitive opportunities and challenges." eBay shares were ahead 6.35 per cent on the Nasdaq.

News Corp. is spending about $950-million (U.S.) to buy the online real estate business Move Inc. in a deal that aims to speed up the media company's digital expansion. Move operates the website realtor.com and News Corp. says it displays more than 98 per cent of all for-sale properties listed in the United States.

Weak Chinese industrial profit figures helped push the TSX down 50 points Monday as the data added to concerns that outside of the U.S., global growth is faltering badly. Traders have also been concerned that an improving American economy could persuade the Federal Reserve to move on raising interest rates sooner than expected next year. Markets have generally expected a hike in mid-2015.

Positive U.S. economic data and Fed speculation have also helped strengthen the U.S. currency, which in turn have depressed commodity prices during September.

A stronger greenback makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies to buy oil and metals which are U.S.-dollar-denominated.

The TSX is down about four per cent for September but still up around 10 per cent for the year. Losses were led by the energy and resource sectors.

The base metals sector on the TSX was down 1.15 per cent Tuesday morning while December copper gave back four cents to $3.02 (U.S.) a pound. First Quantum Minerals fell 43 cents or almost two per cent to $21.29 (Canadian).

The gold sector also lost 1.15 per cent as December gold faded $6.50 to $1,212.30 (U.S.) an ounce.

November crude in New York declined 47 cents to $94.10 and the energy sector was off 0.3 per cent.

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