North American stocks look set for a mixed open Thursday as investors weigh rising oil prices against a report that showed the U.S. economy was much stronger in the spring than first thought. Canadian investors digested big declines in third quarter profits at Canada’s two biggest banks.

In today’s economic news, the U.S. Commerce Dept. said U.S. gross domestic product rose 3.3% in the second quarter compared to the initial projection of 1.9% growth, because of better exports and less inventory liquidation by businesses

Oil prices rose above US$119 a barrel Thursday on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav could strengthen on its way toward crude and natural gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and refineries in the Gulf area.

Light, sweet crude rose US$1.48 cents to US$119.63 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In today’s earnings news, Royal Bank of Canada said its net income for the quarter fell to $1.26 billion, down $133 million or 10% from a year ago.

TD Bank Financial Group said its profit for the third quarter was $997 million, which was down 9.6% from the same time last year.

The Canadian dollar opened at US95.62¢, up 0.09 of a cent.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.12%. the UK’s FTSE 100 was up 1.05%, Germany’s DAX index was down 0.30%, and France’s CAC-40 was up 1.65%.

On Wednesday, Toronto stocks rallied as commodity prices gained ground and CIBC reported lower-than-expected charges for its third quarter.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 231.58 points, or 1.74%, at 13,530.65.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 7.32 points, or 0.38%, to close at 1,949.92.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 89.64 points, or 0.79%, at 11,502.51. The S&P 500 was up 10.12 points, or 0.80%, at 1,281.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 20.49 points, or 0.87%, at 2,382.46.