TORONTO(Reuters) - Investors are counting on the Bank of Canada to deliver a hefty 50 basis point interest rate cut tomorrow, with anything less likely to knock the country's already fragile stock market lower, analysts say.

A minority of market players are holding out hope the central bank will cut rates even further, a move that would likely spur gains in cyclical energy, materials and consumer stocks, said Paul Taylor, chief investment officer at BMO Harris Investment Management Inc.

"Everyone expects the Bank of Canada to throw bones at the market," Taylor said.

Central banks around the globe have cut rates aggressively over the past year in a bid to kick-start economies slammed by the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point on Thursday. In December, the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent.

Since December 2007, the Bank of Canada has already cut its key overnight rate by three full percentage points.

A Reuters poll of primary dealers released on Thursday suggested the Bank of Canada will cut its key overnight rate by at least 50 basis points tomorrow to a fresh 50-year low of one percent to combat a global slowdown the central bank said has pushed the country into recession.

Just one dealer, Desjardins Securities, expects a 75 basis point cut to 0.75 percent.

Given the widespread expectation that rates will fall by half a percentage point, market watchers said the focus will be on the central bank's accompanying statement and possible clues on future action.