CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips as investors parse data; gold, tech cushion losses

By Pranav Kashyap

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped on Monday as investors parsed through local economic data, while an uptick in gold and technology stocks kept losses in check.

At 10:08 a.m. ET, Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 0.17% at 30,273.68 points.

Canada's manufacturing sector downturn eased in October as output and new orders, which have been held back by trade uncertainty, declined at a slower pace, Manufacturing PMI data showed.

Fresh data on employment is due later in the week.

Over in the U.S., manufacturing contracted for an eighth straight month in October as new orders remained subdued, PMI data showed. The data comes as markets navigate the absence of their usual economic benchmarks amid a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's Austan Goolsbee said he was "uneasy with front-loading rate cuts," in an interview with Yahoo Finance.

Back home, gold miners .GSPTTMT rose to the top among sectors. Tech stocks .SPTTTK also rose 0.6%, mainly driven by gains in Bitfarms BITF.TO jumping nearly 12%, buoyed by broader gains in tech stocks on Wall Street. .N GOL/

However, overall market gains were offset by a fall in copper miners. MET/L

Canadian stocks closed October with modest gains, achieving a sixth straight monthly advance, the longest streak since 2021.

"October has been a very strong month for the market.. it does suggest a level of calm, but you do have to be careful of complacency," said Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday he apologized to U.S. President Donald Trump over an anti-tariff political ad, and urged Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to run it, amid U.S.-Canada tension. The ad prompted Trump to announce higher tariffs on Canadian goods and to halt trade talks with Ottawa.

Teck Resources TECKb.TO lost 1.1% after activist fund Palliser Capital intensified pressure on Rio Tinto RIO.L to mount a "now or never" counterbid for the company TECKb.TO, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Air Canada AC.TO gained 1.6% ahead of its quarterly results.