North American stock markets were heading for a mixed opening Friday as investors were greeted with lukewarm economic news about Canada’s unemployment rate and a massive overhaul at the Royal Bank of Canada.

On Wall Street, futures suggested a flat start for regular trading while European indexes moved up.

Statistics Canada said the jobless rate held steady at 7.2%, same as July, with the Canadian economy generated few new jobs in August. That news follows a quarter-point rise in Canadian interest rates Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Canada’s largest bank said late Thursday that Barbara Stymiest, the chief executive of TSX Group Inc., is leaving Canada’s dominant stock exchange at the end of October to become chief operating officer at the Royal. Three Royal executives are retiring: chief financial officer Peter Currie, chief risk officer Suzanne Labarge and RBC Banking vice-chairman Jim Rager.

Most Asian stocks rose, with the key index in the Australian market ending at a record high. But prices fell in Tokyo on concerns about the Japanese economy.

In Sydney, traders said investors shrugged off Thursday’s bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, that killed nine people. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged up 4.3 points, or 0.12%, to finish at a record closing high of 3596.

Tokyo stocks fell after the Japanese government said the economy grew more slowly than initially estimated in the April-June quarter. The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues fell 87.73 points, or 0.79%, to 11083.23.

In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng Index rose 61.79 points, or 0.47%, to 13003.99. Bargain hunters stepped into the market following two sessions of declines, brokers said.

On Thursday, higher oil prices and a revised earnings forecast from bellwether Nokia Corp. helped lift Canadian markets, while U.S. markets closed mixed on Thursday.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 39.14 points or 0.47% to 8393.94. The junior TSX Venture Exchange was off 4.31 points or 0.29% at 1506.16.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 24.26 points or 0.24% to 10289.1, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 19.01 points or 1.03% to 1869.65 and the S&P 500 index was up 2.11 points or 0.19% at 1118.38.

The Canadian dollar was 0.18 of a cent higher at US77.65¢. Canadian Finance Minister
Ralph Goodale said Thursday morning that Ottawa was committed to maintaining balanced budgets even if spending on health care will increase. Two other bits of economic news, showing a 6% jump in housing prices and higher capacity utilization rates in the second quarter, may also have provided a boost for the dollar.