TSX posts longest winning streak in 5 months as tech climbs
The facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen in Toronto · Reuters

By Fergal Smith

(Reuters) - Canada's main index rose for a sixth straight day on Tuesday, led by technology shares, as the potential benefit of a business friendly U.S. government offset the economic uncertainty of trade tariffs that are expected in the coming days.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 110.05 points, or 0.4%, at 25,281.63, its highest closing level since Dec. 12. The daily winning streak was the longest since August.

Corporate profits could get a lift from tax cuts and looser regulation proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has also proposed sweeping trade tariffs, which could include a 25% tax on imports from Canada beginning on Feb. 1.

"You're balancing the fear of the Trump tariffs against the major short-term positive effect of the Trump presidency," said Matt Skipp, president of SW8 Asset Management.

"If it hurts our economy it hurts our stock market to some extent but the actual direct impact of the tariffs (on the TSX) might be less than people think even if they come," Skipp added.

U.S. operations are a major contributor to Canadian bank earnings, while energy and material companies benefit from a weaker Canadian dollar.

Combined, the financial and resource sectors account for 62% of the TTS's weighting, while another block is made up of sectors such as telecommunication and real estate that don't rely on exports.

The technology sector rose 1.6%, with shares of e-commerce company Shoplift Inc up 1.9%. Financials added 0.8% and the interest-rate sensitive utilities sector ended 0.4% higher.

Canadian inflation slowed to a 1.8% annual rate in December, supporting bets for another rate cut by the Bank of Canada.

Energy was a drag, falling 1.3%, as the price of oil settled 2.6% lower.

Shares of business jet maker Bombardier were down 5.3%, giving back much of Monday's gains. (This story has been corrected to fix the investor's surname to Skipp, not Skippy, in paragraphs 4 and 5)

(Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Sandra Maler)