North American stocks may climb at the open amid reports of a big decline in U.S. weekly jobless claims and a solid final reading on U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product.

In this morning’s economic news, Statistics Canada said prices for manufactured goods at the factory gate were up in August, following three months of declines.

Meanwhile, raw materials prices were up again in August as crude oil prices increased for a third straight month.

South of the border, U.S. initial jobless claims tumbled by 79,000 last week even as workers idled by hurricane Katrina continued to file for compensation.

The number of new jobless claims filed nationwide last week was much smaller than Wall Street’s expectation of a drop of 2,000.

U.S. gross domestic product growth in the second quarter was unrevised at 3.3%.

That reading matched economists’ forecasts.

The Canadian dollar opened at US85.23¢, down 0.03 of a cent.

In earnings news, Research In Motion reported late Wednesday its second-quarter profit rose 57% to US$111.1 million as the company benefited from rising revenues from its BlackBerry wireless e-mail products. The company expects to reach the five-million-subscriber mark in February, near the end of its 2006 fiscal year.

In M&A news, E-Trade Financial Corp. said it will acquire BrownCo, the online deep discount brokerage service of JPMorgan Chase & Co., for US$1.6 billion in cash.

In overseas trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced 181.33 points, or 1.3%, to 13,617.24.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index advanced 209.79 points, or 1.38%, to 15,431.25.

Despite a strong showing in the energy sector, the Toronto market drifted lower Wednesday, weighed down by a negative day in financials.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 24.91, or 0.23%, to 11,042.26.

Volume on the senior exchange was 340 million shares.

Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups closed lower on the day, with the financials group losing 1.31%.

Bank of Nova Scotia lost 38¢, or 0.87%, to $43.50, while Sun

Wine maker Vincor International Inc. shot up $12.88, or 54.88%, to $36.35, on heavy trading after the company turned down a $1.4-billion takeover bid from U.S.-based Constellation Brands Inc.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 29.97, or 1.44%, to 2,108.30.

In New York, markets dipped slightly, as the negative effect of higher energy prices offset encouraging economic news.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 16.88, or 0.16%, to 10,473.09, The S&P 500 index added 1.24, or 0.10%, to 1,216.90, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 1.02, or 0.05%, to 2,115.40.