CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures pause after record high; investors eye rate-cut bets

Oct 2 (Reuters) - Futures tied to Canada's main stock index were flat on Thursday, as investors took a breather after the previous session's record peak when a sharper contraction in domestic manufacturing fueled expectations of further rate cuts by the Bank of Canada.

Futures on the S&P/TSX index was flat at 1,776.20 points as of 05:42 a.m. ET (0942 GMT). Canada's main stock index had risen 84.86 points, or 0.3%, to close at a fresh record high of 30,107.67 on Wednesday.

The Canadian dollar moved closer to a recent four-month low against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as a steeper slowdown in Canada's manufacturing sector supported bets for additional interest rate cuts by the BoC.

An uncertain trading environment weighed on production and new orders, causing the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) to fall to 47.7 in September from 48.3 in August, marking the eighth consecutive month the index remained below the 50 threshold.

Meanwhile, a weaker-than-expected U.S. private payrolls data boosted hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The U.S. weekly jobless claims report, a key gauge of labor market health that was due on Thursday, will be the first data release disrupted by the government shutdown that began Wednesday amid a political standoff between Republicans and Democrats.

In commodities, gold and oil prices edged higher on Thursday, while copper prices climbed on the London Metal Exchange.

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Canadian markets directory (Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)