TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index ended lower, but well off the day's lows, as lingering worries about the health of the US economy helped drag down financial and materials issues.The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 10.35 points, or 0.1 percent, at 13,406.33 after dropping more than 100 points earlier in the day.

"Economic growth (in the United States) is slowing down, earnings growth is slowing down and the market is still close to an all-time high, so not a very good recipe for a sustained upside," said Elvis Picardo, investment strategist at Northern Securities in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Two of the TSX index's 10 main groups were lower, led by a 0.8 percent slide in the heavily weighted financial-services sector and a 0.4 percent drop in the resource-laden materials group.

Together, the two sectors make up nearly 50 percent of the market's weight.

"What we're seeing, day-to-day, is just extreme volatility," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel.

"It's our opinion that it's characteristic of a market that, from our view, is somewhat overvalued, that is kind of long in the tooth, and that people are beginning to worry about the sustainability of the market."

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada, Canada's biggest bank, fell 50 Canadian cents, or 0.9 percent, to C$57.32, while Manulife Financial dropped 47 Canadian cents, or 1.2 percent, to C$39.64.

In materials, aluminium producer Alcan fell C$1.05, or 1.6 percent, to C$64.30, while Goldcorp shed 20 Canadian cents, or 0.7 percent, to C$26.74.

The heavyweight energy sector, which accounts for about 30 percent of the overall index, helped cushion the market's fall. It was up 0.8 percent despite a drop in the price of US crude oil, which was $1.31 lower at $64.40 a barrel ahead of US inventory data expected Wednesday.

EnCana rose 70 Canadian cents, or 1.2 percent, to C$58.80, while Talisman Energy was up 42 Canadian cents, or two percent, to C$21.48.