May 6 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was flat in choppy trading on Tuesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff plans dampened investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision meeting.
Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), was trading unchanged at 24,957.06 points.
Late on Monday, Trump said he plans to announce pharmaceutical tariffs over the next two weeks, adding to the levies rhetoric that has unsettled global financial markets in recent months.
The development follows Trump's announcement on Sunday about imposing tariffs on foreign-made movies.
"A lot of the ebbs and flows in the market these days is still dependent on the tariff rhetoric but at some point over the next few months, we're going to see how much damage has actually been caused by tariffs or the uncertainty around it," said Josh Sheluk, portfolio manager at Verecan Capital Management.
Later on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet Trump in the Oval Office to reset a bilateral relationship he says has been undermined by the U.S. president's tariffs and talk of annexation.
On TSX, energy-related stocks (.SPTTEN), rose 1.5% after oil gained more than $1 per barrel.
Materials (.GSPTTMT), rose 1.2% after gold prices rose to a two-week high.
But information and technology (.SPTTTK), stocks were down 1%.
Canadian economic activity contracted in April as employment declined for a second straight month, Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data showed on Tuesday.
Canada's trade deficit narrowed to C$506 million ($366.34 million) in March, beating expectations as imports fell at a faster rate than the drop in exports.
Looking ahead, investors will monitor the Fed's two-day meeting scheduled to start later in the day for hints of potential monetary policy easing this year.
Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sahal Muhammed
