The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market headed for a positive open Friday as the latest shapshot of the Canadian and U.S. economies showed strong growth late last year.

Statistics Canada reported that the economy grew by 0.4% during November, which beat economists expectations of an increase of 0.3%. The showing followed a 0.2% rise in October.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.17 of a cent to US93.62¢ after the report.

And in the U.S., fourth quarter gross domestic product grew at a 5.7% annual rate during the final three months of the year — marking the second straight quarter of growth — and better than the 4.5% rate that economists had expected.

Futures pointed to a positive open in New York with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead 71 points to 10,133, the Nasdaq futures rose 13.75 points to 1,784.25 and the S&P 500 futures moved ahead 6.9 points to 1,086.1.

Analysts pointed out that much of the U.S. growth likely came from areas that might only provide a temporary boost to the economy: government stimulus measures and companies restocking dwindling inventories even as consumer spending hasn’t picked up. Investors will want to see signs of more permanent growth to be sure the economy is returning to solid footing.

A strong GDP report could get the market back on track after a 10-month rally came to a halt over the past two weeks with both the Toronto and New York markets down sharply for the month.

The S&P/TSX composite index is down about 4% from the start of January and the Dow Jones industrials average has fallen about 3%.

A generally positive fourth quarter earnings season has failed to lift indexes while investors have been worried about plans by president Barack Obama to restrict trading by big financial institutions. The Toronto market, in particular, has been impacted by Chinese moves to curb lending by raising banks’ reserve requirements, which touched off concerns about demand.

There was relief on Thursday when the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second, four year-term.

In corporate earnings, Norbord Inc. (TSX:NBD) says cost-cutting and production curtailments resulted in a smaller fourth-quarter loss of US$11 million last year for the Toronto-based wood panel maker. That was 63% below the US$30 million loss reported in the same period of 2008. Sales were US$196 million, up from US$191 million.

A 12% increase in Barbie sales combined with a 16-per cent rise in Hot Wheels sales pushed toymaker Mattel to an 86% rise in profit from a year ago. Mattel earned US$328.4 million, or 89¢ per share, during the quarter — handily beating Wall Street forecasts.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust recorded fourth-quarter net income of $96 million, or 20¢ per unit, down from $124 million, or 26¢ per unit, a year earlier. Revenues were $863 million for the quarter, up from $704 million a year earlier. The trust has been cited as a likely buyer for ConocoPhillips’ nine% stake in Syncrude, the largest oilsands operation in the world.

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday its earnings in the most recent quarter jumped 60%, as a rebound in the personal computer industry drove sales of the company’s latest Windows operating system. But results in Microsoft’s other divisions show that while consumers have resumed spending on new PCs, big corporations have not.

The TSX could also get support from the energy sector as the February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was ahead 38¢ to US$74.02 a barrel.

The February bullion contract on the Nymex eased $1.50 to US$1,082.10 an ounce while March copper rose 3¢ to US$3.12 a pound after closing Thursday at a two and a half month low.

Canplats Resources Corp. (TSXV:CPQ) said Thursday that holders of its shares, options and warrants have approved a takeover of the company by Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G). The junior company said its securityholders voted 94.1% in favour of the deal.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 2.1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.2%.