May 8 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's resources-heavy main stock index rose on Monday, tracking strength in commodity prices as the dollar softened ahead of a key U.S. economic data later in the week.
Futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.3% at 6:23 a.m. ET (1023 GMT), while their U.S. counterparts were mixed.
Oil prices, which were under pressure for much of the past week, gained nearly 2% as U.S. recession fears eased. Gold prices were buoyed by a softer dollar amid rising hopes of a pause in the U.S. rate-hike cycle.
Materials and energy companies have a combined weightage of about 31% on the main index.
Investors would now be looking out for U.S. April inflation data later in the week to further assess whether the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates anytime soon.
The benchmark Canadian stock index (.GSPTSE) gained 1.5% on Friday, posting its best single-day performance in four months, helped by gains in energy shares.
With the Canadian earnings season in full swing, oil and gas company Ensign Energy Services Inc (ESI.TO) reported a 46% surge in first-quarter revenue from a year earlier.
On the research front, National Bank of Canada on Sunday upgraded news and information company Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) to "outperform" from "sector perform".
TD Securities upgraded Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International (MG.TO) to "buy" from "hold".
