Dec 18 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's main stock index edged up on Wednesday, mirroring their Wall Street peers, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later in the day.
December futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.2% at 5:42 a.m. ET (1042 GMT).
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to reduce rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST, with market participants keeping a watch on the updated economic projections and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference for clues on the pace of future rate cuts.
U.S. rate cuts generally benefit commodity prices, particularly precious and base metals, which could boost Canada's resource-heavy stock market. However, with a rate cut almost fully priced in, any hawkish tilt could lift the dollar and put pressure on commodity prices.
Oil prices , inched up about 0.6%, while gold prices were little changed.
On the flip side, prices of most base metals declined, as uncertainty surrounding demand, fueled by Chinese economic data, dampened market sentiment.
Cananda's main share index (.GSPTSE), touched a four-week low on Tuesday, hurt by lower oil prices and political unrest in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government was thrown into chaos on Monday when his finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland quit abruptly. Trudeau, trailing in polls, faces calls from within his own caucus to resign.In corporate news, lithium miner
Patriot Battery Metals (PMET.TO), secured a C$69 million ($48 million) investment from automotive giant Volkswagen for a 9.9% stake.
U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday with the Dow dropping for a ninth straight session as investors showed caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting of the year.
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($1 = 1.4324 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi
