Stocks are expected to open higher on Thursday morning, the first trading day of 2003. Overseas markets are higher, while Wall Street index futures are pointing up, too.

Traders will be looking to an early set of economic reports to gauge the health of the U.S. economy at the start of the year.

In economic news, the number of U.S. workers filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 402,000 in the week ended December 30, compared with a drop of 60,000 in the week ended December 21, according to figures released by the U.S. Labor Department.

Later this morning the Institute for Supply Management’s survey of purchasing managers is due out.

Stock trading was light overseas, and volume was expected to remain unspectacular Thursday and Friday as traders digest their holiday cheer and divergent forecasts for the coming year.

Japanese financial markets remain closed until Monday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 44.23 points to 9,365.52.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index is up of 4.5 points at 3,944.9, while the German DAX is up 2.9% and Paris CAC40 is up 1.3%.


On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX composite index closed down 3.01 points at 6,614.54.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 8.78 points at 8,341.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index declined 4.03 points to 1,335.5, while the broader S&P 500 edged up 0.43 point at 879.82.