May 10 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index

advanced on Friday, tracking a surge in commodity prices, while

investors awaited an employment reading for more clues on the

monetary policy path of the country's central bank.

June futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.7% at

6:40 a.m. ET (10:40 GMT), mirroring gains in their Wall Street

peers.

Spot gold prices rose over 1% and were on track for

their best week since early April, while nonferrous metals,

including copper also advanced, fuelled by risk-on sentiment and

short-covering.

Global benchmark Brent hovered above $84 a barrel after data

this week signalled growing demand in the U.S. and China while

the festering conflict in the Middle East added support.

Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed that the number of

Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased

more than expected in last week, uplifting investor sentiment

around interest rate cuts in the year.

Wall Street indexes closed up in the previous session after

the dataset.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index

also rose 0.5% to close at a record high of 22,375.83,

led by gains in financial and resources shares.

Looking forward, a monthly reading of employment data is due

at 8:30 a.m. ET in Canada that could support the narrative of an

easing labour market and cooling inflation in the country.

Investor focus will then shift to the crucial inflation

reading due in the United States in the upcoming week to gauge

the monetary policy path of the Federal Reserve.

In Canadian corporate news, life insurer Sun Life Financial ( SLF )

on Thursday missed core profit estimates for the first

time in 12 quarters, hurt by weakness in the U.S., a region

where it has been expanding.

COMMODITIES AT 6:40 a.m. ET

Gold futures: $2,382.5; +1.8%

US crude: $79.8; +0.7%

Brent crude: $84.36; +0.6%