TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index ended lower yesterday as commodity prices fell and the broader market was pressured by weakness in Potash Corp. after BHP Billiton scrapped its bid for the fertiliser giant.

Potash Corp. was the most influential mover on the downside, sliding two percent to C$138.60 after BHP Billiton scrapped its $39 billion takeover bid, a move that came shortly after Canadian regulators blocked the offer.

That helped drag down the broader materials group by 1.4 percent. Fellow fertiliser producer Agrium Inc. fell 2.1 percent to C$80.01.

"Potash is one of the big drivers on the downside and that's because of BHP abandoning its bid," said Elvis Picardo, an analyst and strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver.

"It sort of indicates that there's not going to be any takeover premium for Potash in the very near term," he said. Mr. Picardo noted, however, the fertiliser producer's fundamentals were still sound and that's why Potash hadn't skidded even further on the news.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended the day down 13.83 points, or 0.11 percent, at 12,735.41. Two of the index's 10 main groups were lower.

The heavyweight energy sector dropped 0.6 percent as US crude oil futures ended below $85 a barrel in a late day sell-off.

Suncor Energy fell 1.5 percent to C$34.42.

Gold miners fell as spot gold prices eased, aiding Barrick Gold down 1.3 percent to C$50.61 and Goldcorp Inc. lower by 1.1 percent to C$46.36.

The hefty financials sector, up 0.6 percent, had helped the market keep above water for most of the day. Picardo noted that financials found support from upbeat US data that showed retail sales rose a surprisingly strong 1.2 percent in October, nearly double market expectations.

Toronto-Dominion Bank was up 0.7 percent at C$73.20 and Manulife Financial climbed 2.2 percent to C$15.22.

The sector's gains came after financials skidded three percent last week amid concerns over sovereign debt in the euro zone.