CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures steady after record high as investors await domestic jobs data

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Toronto stock futures were little changed on Friday after the benchmark index's record high in the previous session, as investors awaited domestic jobs data for clues on the health of the labor market.

Futures on the S&P/TSX Composite Index SXFcv1 were flat as of 06:42 a.m. ET.

The S&P/TSX Composite index .GSPTSE rose to new record peak on Thursday, boosted by stronger-than-expected bank earnings and bets on improving economic outlook in 2026.

The index is on track for a second straight weekly gain as robust results from the big six Canadian banks and higher oil prices helped reversed some of the early-week losses due to a slide in technology and mining shares.

Data at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show the economy shed 5,000 jobs in November following two months of large job gains, and unemployment rate edged up to 7% from 6.9% in October.

The Bank of Canada is expected to hold interest rates at 2.25% next week. The BoC has cut rates by one percentage point since the start of the year, and signaled a halt in rate cuts in October, citing stable inflation.

In the U.S., personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation - is also set to be released later in the day and could influence the U.S. central bank's policy move next week.

Dovish remarks from Fed policymakers and mixed economic data have heightened the odds of a rate cut next week.

Prices of gold XAU= rose, gaining support from a softer dollar and growing bets on a U.S. interest rate cut.

In corporate news, lender Laurentian Bank's LB.TO profits for the fourth-quarter missed analyst estimates.

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