CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises to near 3-week high on trade war optimism

By Fergal Smith

April 22 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose to a near three-week high on Tuesday, helped by gains for the technology and energy sectors, as some optimism took hold of a letup in the global trade war.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE ended up 297.12 points, or 1.2%, at 24,305.98, its highest closing level since April 3.

Wall Street also rallied, helped by a report that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said a tariff standoff with China was unsustainable, and that he expects the situation to de-escalate.

"The market is going to sniff out eventually that there’s only one way this (trade war) ends - with deals," said Barry Schwartz, chief investment officer at Baskin Wealth Management.

"No one wants to miss the headline when tariffs go back to 20% with China."

On Monday, worries about the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve had spooked investors.

On Tuesday, the Toronto market's technology sector rose 2.1%, with shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc SHOP.TO adding 4.9%.

Heavily weighted financials were up 2% and energy added 2.1%. The price of oil CLc1 settled nearly 2% higher at $64.31 a barrel.

Billionaire Carl Icahn has built an economic interest covering about 34% of Bausch Health's BHC.TO shares, according to a filing, days after the pharmaceutical firm adopted a "poison pill" to ward off hostile takeovers.

Shares of Bausch Health gained 10.3%.

Barrick Gold ABX.TO said it will exit the Donlin gold Project in Alaska by selling its 50% stake to billionaire John Paulson and NovaGold Resources NG.TO for up to $1.1 billion.

Shares of NovaGold Resources jumped 39.2%, while Barrick's shares ended 2.5% lower.

The materials group, which includes metal miners, was the only one of 10 major sectors to lose ground, falling 1%, as the price of gold XAU= pulled back from a record high.