Positive economic news on both sides of the border boosted Wall Street futures and foreshadowed a good morning for equities. In Canada, investors are savouring a better than expected jobs report, particularly a large gain in full-time jobs.

Spurred by a large gain in full-time jobs, Canadian employment rose by an estimated 46,000 in September, following slight declines in the previous two months.

Statistics Canada reports that he unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.0% as the gain in employment was matched by a similar increase in the number of people entering the labour force.

An increase of 37,000 full-time jobs in September more than offset a decline in full-time employment the month earlier. So far in 2003, employment has increased by 98,000 (+0.6%), all in full-time jobs.

The euphoria of the jobs report was offset somewhat by another report that Canadian companies exported 3.8% less to the world, while imports plunged 5.9%, the largest monthly percentage drop since December 1991.

The power outage that left much of Ontario and parts of the United States in the dark in mid-August was a significant factor in sharp declines in merchandise imports and exports for the month.

However, due to the jobs report, it’s unlikely the Bank of Canada will do much about interest rates, at least in the short term.

As a result, Canada’s trade surplus with the rest of the world increased to $5.2 billion, an improvement of $428 million from July.

U.S. stocks are expected to open higher, after a pair of upbeat economic reports balanced out a disappointing forecast from GE. Markets in Europe and Asia were mixed.

The U.S. Labor Department announced early Friday that producer prices rose by 0.3% in September, after rising by 0.4% in August. Excluding usually volatile food and energy costs, core prices saw their pace of growth unchanged from August’s 0.1% rise.

The numbers validated the Federal Reserve’s view that the faster economic growth expected over the next year and a half isn’t likely to fan inflation.

In a separate release, the U.S. Commerce Department reported the U.S. trade deficit narrowed for a fifth straight month in August, falling to US$39.21 billion, from a revised US$40.03 billion in July.

GE announced its third-quarter profit fell 11% after one-time charges, as its NBC and insurance units showed growth while its cyclical industrial businesses struggled.

European markets are lower in midday trading.

London’s FTSE 100 is off 4.9 points to 4,309.

In Frankfurt, the DAX index has shed 4.59 points, to 3477.31.

In Paris, the CAC40 index is down 7.15 points at 3,317.84.

The Bank of Japan voted to slightly ease monetary policy in a move aimed at maintaining the economy’s recovery. The move surprised investors and pushed Tokyo stocks sharply higher. The Nikkei rose 254.6 points, or 2.4%, to 10,786.04.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 135.46 points, or 1.15%, at 11l935.83.


On Thursday, the S&P/TSX composite Index ended the day up 35.19 points at 7,604.49.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed with a 49.11-point gain at 9,680.01. Earlier in the session the Dow was up as much as 130 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up 18.12 points at 1911.90. The broader S&P 550 gained 4.95 points to 1,038.73.