TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed lower yesterday, retreating from the two-year high it hit a day earlier as investors took their cue from weak US economic data and took profits.

All 10 of the index's main sectors were down, including the three heavyweights: energy, down 0.85 percent, materials, down 0.29 percent, and financials, off 0.2 percent.

"I think that maybe the market at the present time seems to have run out of a bit of steam, and after the run that we have had, I can understand that," said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod, adding that the soft U.S. data was also weighing on investors' minds.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed 53.62 points, or 0.42 percent, lower at 12,619.69, after hitting its highest level in two years on Wednesday.

Among the biggest decliners were Suncor Energy, which fell 1.67 percent to C$34.72, and Barrick Gold Corp , which dropped 0.65 percent to C$49.09. Data showed new US claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, hardening the view that the US Federal Reserve will pump more money into the economy in hopes of boosting growth and lowering unemployment.

Other data yesterday showed record-high imports from China helped widen the US trade deficit in August, which may drag on US growth and increase international tensions over trade and currency policy.

"You've got stocks and commodities north and south of the border that have done extremely well in a very short period of time, so any one day's price movement is probably not terribly illuminating," said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at Russell Investments in New York.

"It could be profit-taking ... for Canada the loonie is getting very, very, very strong, and this is obviously going to have macro-economic consequences for exports and manufacturers north of the border."

Canada depends on the United States to take in about three-quarters of its exports, which are tilted toward commodities like oil, metals, and natural gas.