CANADA STOCKS-TSX steadies as tech stocks rise amid geopolitical and trade uncertainties

By Nikhil Sharma

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index opened higher on Monday, led by technology shares, as investors looked past uncertainties surrounding upcoming U.S.-Russia talks, a China tariff deadline and key U.S. inflation data due later this week.

At 9:50 a.m. ET (1350 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 0.19% at 27,810.13 points.

The technology index .SPTTTK led the sectoral gains, rising about 2%, with Constellation Software CSU.TO jumping 4.6% following its second-quarter results late on Friday.

Shopify SHOP.TO also lifted the sub-index, gaining 1.5% on the day. The e-commerce firm once again became Canada's most valuable publicly traded company last week, surpassing the Royal Bank of Canada, following upbeat quarterly results.

Overall gains were contained by falling materials index .GSPTTMT, tracking an over 1% decline in gold prices. GOL/

"Investors have mostly started to look through some of the geopolitical issues...and focus more on real economic indicators and earnings," said Josh Sheluk, portfolio manager at Verecan Capital Management, but cautioned about the risk of sudden reactions to unexpected events.

Geopolitics and trade tensions are expected to dominate this week, with the scheduled high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. tariff deadline on China expires on Tuesday, with hopes for another extension to avoid triple-digit percentage import levies.

Tuesday's U.S. July consumer price index report will also be on the radar, which could help investors gauge the impact of Trump tariffs on inflation and may influence expectations for a September Federal Reserve rate cut.

Canada is poised for a data-light week, with Friday's June wholesale trade and manufacturing sales figures to be the only notable indicators.

Barrick Mining ABX.TO slipped 3.7% after the second-quarter results failed to impress investors, despite it surpassing profit expectations.