Feb 7 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was little changed on Wednesday, as a weakness in commodity-linked stocks offset gains in technology stocks, as markets awaited minutes from the Bank of Canada's last policy meeting for cues on its interest rate path.
At 10:36 a.m. ET (15:36 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab was up 7.19 points, or 0.03%, at 20,964.93.
Base and precious metal miners (.GSPTTMT), opens new tab led declines, falling 0.5% as the sector tracked weakness in copper prices and as spot gold prices traded in a tight range.
Technology shares (.SPTTTK), opens new tab capped losses, climbing 1.4%, mirroring gains on the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Wall Street (.IXIC), opens new tab.
The Bank of Canada (BoC), which left its key overnight interest rate unchanged at its last policy decision on Jan. 24, has however indicated that its focus was shifting to when to cut rates. The minutes of that meeting will be released at 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
"Investors are going to look through for any sentiment from the BoC on rate cuts. It is unlikely to change the narrative that the bank is not in a rush to cut rates. It won't be a surprise, but still something to look forward to", said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.
Key jobs data in Canada is due on Friday, which will provide more insight into the strength of the Canadian labour market and the BoC's rate cut path.
"The report will be in focus to get a sense of wage growth in Canada, which is stickier than in the United States and is potentially feeding into services inflation", Kourkafas added.
In corporate news, heavy machinery provider Finning International (FTT.TO), opens new tab and automation solutions provider ATS Corporation (ATS.TO), opens new tab slipped 8.2% and 4.0%, respectively, to the bottom of the TSX after their fourth-quarter revenue figures missed analysts' estimates.
Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore, Shweta Agarwal and Tasim Zahid
