April 6 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell for a third straight day as miners weighed on commodity-heavy index, while weak U.S. jobless claims data fanned fears of a potential recession.
At 10:28 a.m. ET (1428 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was down 20.47 points, or 0.1%, at 20,139.08.
Rate-sensitive technology stocks (.SPTTTK) fell 0.8%, mirroring declines in their Wall Street peers as the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) headed for a weekly fall for the first time in four weeks.
The materials sector (.GSPTTMT), which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.6% as spot gold prices fell.
"It is a combination of a pullback in commodity prices impacting resource sectors and generally weak sentiment for North American equity markets being driven out of the United States," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
Latest employment data showed that the Canadian economy added more jobs than expected in March and the jobless rate remained near a record low for the fourth consecutive month, indicating continued strength in the labor market despite growing worries of an economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, a poll by Reuters showed that economists expected the Bank of Canada (BoC) to keep its key interest rate steady at 4.50% through 2023.
"The more important number for the BoC is the wage growth number which came down, suggesting inflation pressures are easing and would support the Bank of Canada remaining in its pause mode," Cieszynski added.
The TSX is eking out weekly gains, buoyed by commodity-linked stocks.
Among major movers, North West Co (NWC.TO) rose 5.2% as multiple brokerages raised their price targets on the retailer after its fourth-quarter profit beat.
Canadian markets will be closed on Friday, April 7 on account of Good Friday.
