North American markets are expected to add to Wednesday’s strong performance when trading opens Thursday morning.

There was some positive economic news from Statistics Canada today. The government agency said the Canadian economy advanced by 0.2% in January due to a rebound in retailing and renewed vigour in manufacturing.

On an annual basis, StatsCan said gross domestic product advanced 3.2% between January 2004 and January 2005.

The Canadian dollar opened at US82.43¢, up 0.26 of a cent. On Wednesday, The loonie had dropped 0.32 of a cent.

South of the border, U.S. personal income increased 0.3%, after falling a revised 2.5% in January, the Commerce Department said today. Income was originally seen dropping 2.3%. January’s tumble, the sharpest in 11 years, had followed a huge increase in December that was fed by a large, one-time Microsoft Corp. shareholder dividend payment.

Personal consumption rose 0.5% in February, after inching up a revised 0.1% the month before. Spending was initially seen as flat in January.

Separately, U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 to 350,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The Labor Department releases the March employment report tomorrow.

Later today, the Chicago National Association of Purchasing Management is scheduled to release its March purchasing managers index at 10:00 ET.

Toronto stocks finished in the black on Wednesday for the first time in eight sessions, getting a lift from rebounding commodity issues. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 88.84 points, or 0.95%, to finish at 9,484.26.

Natural resources issues helped the market turn around after seven straight losing sessions. The materials group gained 2.13%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index continued its losing streak, slipping 11.46 points, or 0.62%, to 1,844.35.

In New York, U.S. stocks rallied as crude oil prices fell, while tech shares got a lift from an upbeat earnings report from chip maker Micron Technology Inc.

Crude for May delivery at US$53.99 a barrel, down 24¢, after a government survey showed crude inventories rose sharply last week.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 135.23 points, or 1.30%, to close at 10,540.93, while the S&P 500 index was up 16.05 points, or 1.38%, to end at 1,181.41. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 31.79 points, or 1.61%, to finish at 2,005.67.