Wall Street stock futures turned higher Friday after a report on U.S. fourth-quarter economic activity was not as grim as many economists had expected.

The U.S. economy shrank at a 3.8% annual clip in the fourth quarter, not as bad as the 5.5% rate of decline economists, on average, expected.

Here at home, gross domestic product fell 0.7% in November as virtually all major sectors reduced production, Statistics Canada said.

The drop was nearly double the 0.4% decline forecast by Bay Street economists.

In earnings news, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a profit of US$45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a U.S. company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33% from a year ago.

Procter & Gamble cut its sales forecast for the year despite a 53% increase in earnings in its just-ended quarter.

Amazon.com posted a surprise gain in fourth-quarter earnings thanks to strong holiday sales.

In commodities news, light, sweet crude rose 36¢ to US$41.80 in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, the UK’s FTSE 100 Index was 0.4% lower.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 3.1% after a record 9.6% plunge Japanese industrial output in December.

A slew of dismal corporate earnings reports sent the Toronto Stock Exchange down nearly 150 points on Thursday, weighed down by sharp drops among bank stocks and energy companies.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 143.47 points, or 1.6%, to close at 8,762.76.

The financials group tumbled 4.3%, reversing Wednesday’s 4% gain.

Junior companies saw their stocks advance in Toronto, sending the S&P/TSX Venture composite index up 10.62 points, or 1.2%, to end at 880.54.

South of the border, similarly dismal corporate earnings reports put downward pressure on stock markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 226.44 points, or 2.7%, to end at 8,149.01.

The S&P 500 index declined 28.95 points, or 3.3%, to finish at 845.14.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 50.5 points, or 3.2%, to close at 1,507.84.

IE