North American stocks are poised to open mixed Thursday as investors weigh a jump in crude-oil prices against strong September U.S. retail sales.

OPEC on Thursday moved to cut production by a million barrels a day, sending crude-oil futures higher. Crude for November delivery jumped $1.16 to US$60.57 a barrel in electronic trading.

Among U.S. retail reports so far, Target said Thursday said same-store sales rose 6.7% in September.

Discounter Costco Wholesale reported a 4% same-store sales rise, slightly below analyst expectations. Starbucks late Wednesday posted a better-than-forecast 6% monthly sales rise.

In today’ economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 302,000 in the week ended Sept. 30. The latest drop in claims was bigger than Wall Street expectations of a 1,000 decline.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said the value of building permits surged to their second highest level on record in August in the wake of across-the-board increases in all five residential and non-residential components.

Canadian municipalities issued $5.8 billion worth of permits, up 8.3% from July.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.76¢, unchanged from Wednesday’s close.

Monthly employment data for the U.S. and Canada are due to be released tomorrow.

In M&A news, life sciences company MDS Inc. has struck a deal to sell its laboratory services division for $1.33 billion to a unit of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System pension fund.

Overseas markets strengthened, with the Nikkei 225 surging 367 points, or over 2%, in Japan.

European stock markets also rose, with the U.K. FTSE 100 up 0.4%. The European Central Bank, sticking to its tough line on inflation, raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday to 3.25%.

On Wednesday, Toronto stocks reversed direction to finish sharply higher, as energy issues rebounded on a rise in crude oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 91.99 points, or 0.8%, to close at 11,618.12 in a broad-based advance.

That followed Tuesday’s plunge of 261.26 points.

The energy group advanced 1.6%.

The TSX Venture Exchange fell 40.23 points to 2,322.91, after plunging 90 points in the previous session.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks continued to rally.

All three major indexes rose more than 1%, as a weaker-than-expected services report and comments from the Federal Reserve’s chairman reinforced views the Fed may hold interest rates steady.

The Dow Jones industrial reached a record close and an all-time intraday high for the second day in a row.

The Dow was up 123.27 points, or 1.05%, to close at 11,850.61. The S&P 500 was up 16.11 points, or 1.21%, at 1,350.22.

The Nasdaq composite index was up 47.30 points, or 2.11%, to end at 2,290.95.