(Updates with morning prices)

By Nikhil Sharma

March 6 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell

sharply on Thursday as uncertainties about a trade war dented

investor sentiment, even after U.S. President Donald Trump gave

automakers a one-month exemption from his 25% tariffs on

Canadian and Mexican imports.

At 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT), the S&P/TSX composite index

was down 0.9% at 24,646.74.

Trump will exempt automakers from the stringent tariffs as

long as they comply with the terms of an existing free-trade

agreement, the White House said on Wednesday.

However, the president has made it clear that he was not

calling off his tariffs on the two countries, pressing them to

deter fentanyl smuggling.

"The challenge is that no one can really anticipate or

predict what Trump is going to do at any given point in time,"

said Shiraz Ahmed, senior portfolio manager and founder of

Sartorial Wealth at Raymond James.

"The anxiousness is likely spilling over into the markets at

the moment... The market and everybody are just walking on

eggshells and anticipating more bad than good."

The technology sector fell 1.2% on Thursday,

having slipped nearly 13% from its all-time high three weeks

ago.

The financial sector, which has the highest

weighting on the main index, lost 1.3%.

A major driver for overall losses on the TSX was Wall

Street, where the benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1.5% as

sentiments around a global trade war weighed.

However, materials shares on the TSX rose 0.4%,

boosted by copper prices.

On the economic front, Canada's trade surplus exceeded

expectations by a wide margin to post a 32-month record in

January, as exports of cars and energy products rose amid tariff

woes, especially to the U.S.

Among individual stocks, shares of Aecon Group ( AEGXF ) lost

more than 12% after the construction company missed

fourth-quarter revenue expectations.