* C$ steady at 93.55 U.S. cents
* Bonds lower as stock index futures point higher
TORONTO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was a touch stronger, rising off six-week lows against the U.S. dollar, and searching for a catalyst to give it firmer direction on Monday.
At 8:05 a.m. (1305 GMT), the Canadian dollar was at C$1.0690 to the U.S. dollar, or 93.55 U.S. cents, up from C$1.0693 to the U.S. dollar, or 93.52 U.S. cents, at Friday's close.
"It's been jumpy but without any clear direction," said Eric Lascelles, chief economics and rates strategist at TD Securities. "The thing that we're keying off of is the economic data today."
The key data on Monday was expected to be the Institute for Supply Management's January manufacturing index and December construction spending, which are due at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), with expectations that the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in nearly four years.
Lascelles said he expected the data would probably be "strong enough to make people feel reasonably good about the world and continue this tentative risk-on trade."
Overnight, the currency weakened to C$1.0722 to the U.S. dollar, or 93.27 U.S. cents, but edged off that low as U.S. stock index futures rose and the price of oil firmed, suggesting risk appetite may be on the rise.
The data calendar for Canada is empty until Thursday when data for building permits for December and a gauge of purchasing activity for January are due. But the main focus will be on Friday when market players look for further evidence of an economic recovery in the Canadian and U.S. jobs data. ECONCA
Canadian bonds were lower with their U.S. counterparts ahead of the U.S. data and U.S. stock index futures that suggested a positive market open.
The two-year bond CA2YT=RR edged 4 Canadians cent lower to C$100.31 to yield 1.350 percent, while the 10-year bond CA10YT=RR fell 16 Canadian cents to C$103.02 to yield 3.370 percent.
(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
