April 17 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index climbed on Thursday after President Donald Trump hailed "big progress" in the U.S.-Japan trade negotiations on Wednesday, although sentiment remained fragile amid tariff uncertainties.
June futures on the S&P/TSX index SXFcv1 were up 0.4% at 6.10 a.m. ET (1010 GMT).
Markets have been focused on rapidly evolving trade policies under the Trump administration, with investors awaiting potential agreements between the U.S. and its trading partners.
Speaking to reporters after the talks on Wednesday, Japanese representative Ryosei Akazawa gave few details but said the parties had agreed to hold a second meeting later this month and that Trump had said getting a deal with Japan was a "top priority".
Among the latest developments in U.S.-China trade war, the U.S. Commerce Department announced on Tuesday new export licensing requirements on artificial intelligence chips to Beijing.
This news triggered a bruising session in global stock markets on Wednesday, as chip giant Nvidia NVDA.O warned of steep charges resulting from U.S. restrictions on its exports.
But Canada's resource-heavy stock index bucked the trend on the day, climbing to a near two-week high on strengthening commodity prices and positioning itself for a second consecutive weekly gain.
Both U.S. and Canadian stock markets will be closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.
In commodities, oil prices rose and traded near their highest in two weeks on supply concerns after the U.S. imposed new sanctions to curb Iranian oil exports.
Copper prices also edged higher, while gold prices pulled back from a record high as investors booked profits.
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(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
((Ragini.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))
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