CANADA STOCKS-TSX edge higher; US tariff deadline approaches

By Twesha Dikshit and Sukriti Gupta

July 4 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday, buoyed by gains in real estate stocks, while concerns over U.S. trade deals ahead of the looming July 9 tariff deadline weighed on sentiment.

The S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE hit a fresh record high and was last up 0.1% at 27055.24 points. The index was on track to log a weekly gain.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump are aiming to reach some form of trade deal by July 21.

"The threat of further global tariffs remains... but the most severely negative global trade scenarios still look less likely than they did a few months ago," economists at RBC Economics said in a note.

Data on Friday showed Greater Toronto Area home sales rose for a third straight month in June and prices extended their recent decline.

On the TSX, real estate .GSPTTRE stocks led sectoral gains, rising 1.4%. Allied Properties AP_u.TO up 2%, Dream Industrial REIT DIR_u.TO advanced 1.6%, among the top gainers on the benchmark index.

Mining shares .GSPTTMT edged 0.1% higher, energy .SPTTEN shares were flat.

Copper prices retreated on Friday. Copper miners Capstone Copper CS.TO down 1.3% and Ero Copper ERO.TO down 1.1%, were among the bottom performers on the main index.

S&P's Canada services PMI data on Friday showed that Canada's services economy contracted at a higher rate in June with U.S. trade policy uncertainty leading to decreased activity and increased cost pressures,

Meanwhile, Trump's tax-cut legislation cleared its final hurdle in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, with plans to sign it into law later in the day.