CANADA STOCKS-TSX gains as focus shifts to US-China trade talks

By Sanchayaita Roy

May 9 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday, led by commodity stocks, while investors assessed fresh comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on U.S.-China tariffs, ahead of a weekend meeting between the two biggest economies.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 0.12% at 25,279.07 points and was on track for its fourth straight session of gains.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that Beijing should open up its market to the U.S. and that 80% tariffs on Chinese goods "seems right". The levies are currently at 145%.

The comment comes ahead of this weekend's U.S. and China meetings in Switzerland, with investors hoping the talks will ease the trade war that has spurred worries over global economic growth.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, investors cheered a trade deal struck between Britain and the U.S. - the first of its kind since Trump paused his initial tariffs last month.

"(The) new trade agreement signs that these tariffs can be scaled back....(and) U.S. and China will be negotiating this weekend, so hopefully we'll get some good news there", said Ian Chong, Portfolio Manager at First Avenue Investment Counsel.

Separately, Reuters reported that India had offered to slash its tariff gap with the U.S. to less than 4% from nearly 13% now, in exchange for an exemption from U.S. tariffs, as per sources.

On the data front, Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.9% in April, matching the November figure, when joblessness in the country scaled an eight-year high outside of the pandemic era.

On TSX, energy .SPTTEN stocks gained 0.8%, as oil prices rose and was poised for a weekly gain.

Mining stocks .GSPTTMT also advanced 0.4%, following a surge in gold prices by over 1%.

An index of communication .GSPTTTS stocks rose 2.8%, with TELUS Corporation T.TO gaining 5.7% after the communications technology firm reported first-quarter profit and revenue above Wall Street estimates.