(Updates with morning prices)

By Ragini Mathur

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index hit a

record high on Wednesday, with mining stocks leading the

advance, buoyed by renewed U.S. rate cut optimism and robust

earnings from major U.S. banks that signaled strength in the

financial sector.

At 10:04 a.m. ET (1404 GMT), Toronto's S&P/TSX composite

index was up 1.4% at 30,776.09 points, eclipsing the

record intraday high it reached on October 6.

Gains were broad-based, with all major sectors trading in

positive territory.

Information technology stocks surged 2.2%,

following upbeat third-quarter results from ASML, the

world's largest supplier of computer chip-making equipment.

Meanwhile, safe-haven gold broke through $4,200 an

ounce for the first time to extend its record-breaking run,

helping lift materials stocks 2.3%.

Strong earnings from U.S. banking giants set an encouraging

tone for Canadian lenders, lifting heavyweight financial stocks

0.9%.

"We are seeing the major banks in the U.S. reporting

fantastic numbers, and there is no reason to believe Canadian

banks will not report good numbers next month," said Allan

Small, senior investment advisor at the Allan Small Financial

Group with iA Private Wealth.

Market sentiment also received a boost from Federal Reserve

Chair Jerome Powell's dovish-leaning comments on Tuesday, which

refocused attention on growing expectations for rate cuts.

Traders are now pricing in a quarter-point cut at the Fed's

October 28-29 meeting, followed by another reduction in

December, according to data compiled by LSEG.

"Lower interest rates help markets, period," Small said.

"The reality is that Canadian equities are heavily influenced by

U.S. monetary policy and economic stimulus."

The Bank of Canada will announce its rate decision on

October 29, with markets assigning a 60% probability to a

25-basis-point cut. Those odds have diminished considerably

after Friday's unexpectedly strong employment report.