Oct 9 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index inched lower on Wednesday as cautious investors awaited minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last meeting, while weak metal prices weighed on the market.
December futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.1% at 6:03 a.m. ET (10:03 GMT).
Minutes from the Fed's September meeting are due later in the day, and investors are expected to look for insights into the interest-rate path.
Focus is also on U.S. consumer price index data, expected on Thursday, to infer central bank's policy outlook.
Odds for a 25-basis-point-cut at the U.S. Fed's November policy meeting stand at 88%.
Domestic investors also await Canada's unemployment data, due on Friday, as it could provide clues about the Bank of Canada's interest rate path at its policy meeting later in the month.
The materials sector could track gold prices, which dipped against a stronger dollar, and copper prices that fell over China's failure to detail new stimulus measures to boost the top metals consumer's economy.
Canada's energy sector could rebound, tracking higher oil prices as markets remained wary of escalating tensions in the Middle East that could disrupt supply from the region.
Markets also await quarterly earnings from the major U.S. banks on Friday.
In corporate news, Japan's Seven & I Holdings (3382.T), opens new tab received a revised takeover bid of around $47 billion from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO), opens new tab, compared with $38.5 billion earlier.
COMMODITIES
Gold : $2,618.1; -0.15%
US crude : $74.26; +0.9%
Brent crude : $77.85; +0.9%
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($1 = 1.3665 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo
