North American stocks appear headed for a flat start Thursday morning as overseas markets traded higher on the heels of a rally in the previous session.

Stocks in Toronto and New York posted strong gains Wednesday, fuelled by rebounding commodity prices and solid earning from Morgan Stanley and FedEx.

In today’s economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 308,000 in the week ended June 17. The figures were lower than Wall Street’s expectations of an increase of 15,000 in claims in the latest week.

A report on the U.S. leading indicator for May is due at 10:00 ET.

There are no major economic announcements from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US89.95¢, down 0.21 of a cent.

In earnings news, Inco Ltd. is forecasting its highest-ever quarterly profit in the second quarter, along with “continued strong performance” for the second half of this year.

Based on current commodity prices, the company said today its adjusted diluted net earnings for the second quarter will be US$1.70 to US$1.75 per share.

Software giant, Oracle is due to report earnings after the close of trading.

In banking news, Germany’s Allianz said it plans to cut 7,480 jobs at its domestic insurance and banking activities as part of a major reorganization introduced last year. Allianz is Europe’s largest insurer by premium income.

European markets were higher at midday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index gained 1%, the German DAX Xetra 30 index climbed 1.3%, and the French CAC-40 index increased 1.1%.

In Asia, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 489.41 points, or 3.34%, to finish at 15,133.67, its highest close since June 6.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index advanced 167.34 points, or 1.1%, to 15,826.7. Still, even including Thursday’s gains the index is down 8.7% from the five-year high it achieved May 8.

Toronto stocks rallied Wednesday, after dropping below the 11,000 mark in yesterday’s session, as investors bought back into the market, inspired by a modest rebound in commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 117.35, or 1.07%, to 11,112.83.

Seven of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, with the energy sector gaining 2.16%.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 28.63, or 1.14%, to 2,550.90.

In New York, strong earnings reports fuelled investor confidence, as markets rebounded after recent sell offs.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 104.62 points, or almost 1%, at 11,079.46. The Nasdaq composite index rose 34.14 points, or 1.6%, to 2,141.20. The S&P 500 gained 12.08 points, or close to 1%, to close at 1,252.20.