CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as materials shares gains on Middle East tensions

By Ragini Mathur

June 12 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Thursday as potential U.S. personnel evacuation in the Middle East boosted materials shares, while investors sought more clarity on the U.S.-China trade agreement.

The S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE rose 0.16% to 26,564.29 points, hovering near Wednesday's record high levels.

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday some U.S. personnel were being relocated from the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran.

The metal mining sector .GSPTTMT rose 0.8% as gold prices hit a one-week high on safe-haven demand.

Markets faced additional uncertainty as Trump said he was willing to extend the deadline for trade talks, although he deemed it unlikely. He added that the U.S. will send letters to other countries specifying trade deal terms in coming weeks.

This week's focus centered on U.S.-China trade talks, which resulted in a deal to restore their truce. Despite the progress, long-standing tensions persisted as some tariffs remained in place.

"People are worried about how fragile the trade truce might be," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung Investment Management

"Apparently it did more about supply chains than it did about actual tariffs".

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he plans to attend next week's Group of 7 leaders meeting with Trump in Canada, where they are expected to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they used the opportunity of the G7 Summit to make an announcement along that line," Sprung said about the possibility of a trade agreement between the U.S. and Canada.

Utilities .GSPTTUT, which are often traded as bond proxies, gained 0.5% as Canadian government 10-year bond yields CA10YT=RR rose to 3.293%.

On the flip side, consumer discretionary shares .GSPTTCD fell the most, followed by healthcare stocks .GSPTTHC. Both sectors were down 0.6%.

Among single stocks, Ivanhoe Mines IVN.TO dropped 7% after the diversified mining company cut output forecast.