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CANADA STOCKS-TSX gives back some of this week's rally; energy caps losses

(Adds investor quotes and details throughout, updates prices)

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TSX ends down 135.90 points, or 0.7%, at 19,235.09

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Utilities fall 1.9%; Ballard Power ends down 5.5%

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Tech loses 1.4%

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Energy advances 1.9%; oil settles 1.4% higher

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday, but held on to much of its gains over the previous two days as major oil producers slashed production and investors awaited data at the end of the week that could offer clues on the outlook for interest rates.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 135.90 points, or 0.7%, at 19,235.09, after climbing 5% over the course of Monday and Tuesday.

Wall Street also dipped as Federal Reserve officials stuck to their hawkish message that interest rates will stay higher for longer to tackle inflation.

Concern that aggressive central bank tightening could tip some major economies into recession has hammered stocks this year.

"There is a lot of pessimism in this market. The bar for good things to happen I think is very, very low," said Mike Archibald, a portfolio manager at AGF Investments.

"If we can get some decent news either on the earnings front or on the data front I think there is a really good chance that we continue to rally here."

The Canadian and U.S. employment reports for September are due for release on Friday.

U.S. crude prices settled 1.4% higher at $87.76 a barrel as OPEC+ agreed to its deepest cuts to production since the 2020 COVID pandemic.

"Clearly OPEC is signaling that they have a commitment to cutting production to keep prices elevated ... and the stocks are continuing to act much, much better than the commodity," Archibald said.

The Toronto market's energy sector climbed 1.9%. That helped offset some broader losses for the index, including a 1.9% decline for the utilities group.

It was dragged down by a 5.5% slide in Ballard Power after Citigroup cut the price target on its U.S.-listed shares.

Technlogy lost 1.4% and heavily-weighted financials ended 0.8% lower. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Alistair Bell)