Updated at 10:24 a.m. ET/ 1524 GMT

By Ragini Mathur

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday, helped by mining shares, as investors cheered the Bank of Canada's hefty interest rate cut and the possibility of a U.S. rate cut next week.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 59.71 points, or 0.23%, at 25,564.04.

The Bank of Canada slashed its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 3.25% on Wednesday, while indicating that further cuts would be more gradual, in a shift from previous messaging that continuous easing was needed to support growth.

BoC Governor Tiff Macklem also said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian exports represented "a major new uncertainty".

The policy rate is now at the top end of the bank's "neutral range", where rates are just enough to not restrict economic growth but not stimulate it either.

The materials .GSPTTMT led the sectoral gains, rising 1.1%, as gold climbed after an inflation print from U.S. boosted rate cut expectations. GOL/

Meanwhile, Canada's information technology .SPTTTK rose 0.6%.

South of the border, U.S. inflation data came in line with expectations, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to cut rates at its policy meeting next week.

"Today's report of the CPI and the Bank of Canada moving at a faster pace are supportive of the current rally that we are seeing," said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.

"No doubt it's been a very strong year in terms of returns. There's a lot of excitement about 2025."

The TSX is up 21.9% for the year.

Wall Street main indexes rose on Wednesday, with Nasdaq .IXIC jumping more than 1%. .N

Back home, Bausch Health Companies BHC.TO dropped 10.2% after a report said Blackstone BX.N may exit a group bidding for the eye care firm Bausch & Lomb BLCO.TO, contributing to a more than 3% fall in the healthcare sector .GSPTTHC.

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Ragini.mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))