CANADA STOCKS-TSX ends lower as metal mining shares fall

By Fergal Smith

May 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended lower on Thursday as gold mining shares fell, but the index stayed in reach of a recent four-week high as investors weighed prospects of fiscal spending and welcomed recent calming of global trade tensions.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended down 46.13 points, or 0.2%, at 24,795.55. On Tuesday, it posted its highest closing level in four weeks at 24,874.48.

U.S. stocks rose after strong results from megacaps Microsoft MSFT.O and Meta META.O eased concerns about artificial intelligence spending. Investor sentiment has improved in recent weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump put on pause sweeping global tariffs.

"There's a bit of optimism in the air, particularly coming from the macro side, just with the election, (and) the tone seems to have changed significantly from President Trump," said Ben Jang, a portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth.

"Likely we're going to see legislation passed fairly quickly, almost preemptively, to help support the Canadian economy."

Canadian manufacturing activity contracted in April at the steepest rate since shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as the uncertain nature of U.S. trade policy weighed on production and new orders.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party, which retained power in the Canadian general election on Monday, has promised to cut taxes and increase spending on housing and infrastructure.

The materials group, which includes metal mining shares, fell 2.4% as unwinding of safe-haven bets led to gold XAU= dropping to a two-week low.

Shares of Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO lost 9.4% after the business jet manufacturer reported first-quarter revenue that fell slightly short of investor expectations.

The technology sector rose 0.7%, helped by a gain of nearly 5% for the shares of electronics firm Celestica CLS.TO.

Energy was up 0.9% as the price of oil CLc1 settled 1.8% higher at $59.24 a barrel.