North American stocks look set to climb Thursday on the back of another big day for earnings.

In this morning’s reports, General Motors posted a massive loss for the fourth quarter and year, amid weak performance in North America and restructuring and other charges. GM lost US$4.8 billion , or US$8.45 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Suncor Energy Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to $694 million, compared with $333 million a year earlier, and it is forecasting record oil production in 2006.

Petro-Canada said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 62% to a record $714 million, from a year-earlier $441 million.

Lockheed Martin said its net rose 53%, primarily on gains from the sale of equity stakes, while Honeywell’s earnings doubled, boosted by the company’s aerospace and automation units.

Caterpillar shares gained 4.4% in pre-market trading after raising its fiscal 2006 guidance and beating Wall Street’s fourth-quarter estimates on a surge in customer demand.

Verizon Communications said fourth-quarter earnings, excluding items, met expectations, helped by strength in its wireless and high-speed Internet subscriber growth. AT&T posted fourth-quarter profits that more than doubled, reflecting the company’s first quarter of combined operations with SBC Communications.

In today’s economic news, U.S. durable-goods orders rose 1.3% in December as demand surged for machines, automobiles, and aircraft used by the defense industry.

U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 11,000 last week.

The price of crude oil added 15¢ to $66 in electronic trading Thursday.

Overseas, European stocks advanced. The German DAX 30 climbed 0.9%, the French CAC 40 added 0.7% and the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%.

In Japan, stocks rose for a third straight session after the turmoil of last week as electronics, automobile and financial shares rallied. The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.5% in Tokyo.

Toronto stocks nudged ahead Wednesday, as a drop in the energy sector largely offset gains in the materials index.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 17.19, or 0.15%, to 11,675.16, after hitting a new record high of 11,800.15 in morning trading.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 7.89, or 0.32%, to 2,473.60.

In New York, markets were flat despite strong corporate earnings, as a report said housing sales of pre-existing homes was down.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.48, or 0.02%, to 10,709.74, the S&P500 index fell 2.18, or 0.17%, to 1,264.68 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.60, or 0.2%, to 2,260.65.

U.S. National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes and condos dropped by 5.7% in December from the previous month. It marked the third straight monthly decline.