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By Fergal Smith
(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday as technology and metal mining shares notched gains, despite confusion around the timing of a deadline for U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 124.38 points, or 0.5%, at 25,328.36, its third straight day of gains.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised hopes for another month-long pause on 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, saying they could take effect on April 2.
A White House official, however, said Trump's previous March 4 deadline for the import duties remained in effect.
"Even though the tariffs could be a bloodbath for Canada, the largest-capitalization stocks on the TSX aren't that exposed to tariffs," said Barry Schwartz, chief investment officer at Baskin Wealth.
Financial, telecom, real estate, energy and materials shares account for roughly two-thirds of the TSX's weighting, and those sectors would likely escape the direct impact of tariffs or benefit from carve-outs.
"There is no better index for safe havens than the TSX. It's dominated by mature dividend-paying companies that are not exposed to the high-growth areas," Schwartz said.
The TSX is set to reach a record high by the end of 2025, helped by lower borrowing costs, a Reuters poll found.
The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark rate by two percentage points since June to a level of 3%.
The materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, rose 1.6%.
Technology added 1.2% and heavily weighted financials ended 0.2% higher.
National Bank of Canada set aside larger-than-expected reserves for bad loans, signaling challenges ahead even as strong income from dealmaking helped deliver a profit beat. The company's shares ended 5.5% lower.
Energy was a drag, falling 0.5%, as the price of oil settled at a two-month low of $68.62 a barrel.
(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Lisa Shumaker)
