North American stocks are expected to open little changed Thursday, with U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke again due to testify in front of Congress.

On Wednesday, stocks rallied reassuring words from Bernanke that inflation pressures appeared to be in check.

Bernanke is due to talk to Congress for a second day, this time in front of the Senate, though he’s likely to have made most of his more important points during Wednesday’s testimony.

In today’s economic news, U.S. import prices fell by 1.2% in January amid a sharp drop in oil prices. Meanwhile, U.S. jobless claims rose by a larger-than-expected 44,000 due to bad weather in some parts of the country.

In earnings news, EnCana posted the biggest corporate profits in Canadian history, of $5.65 billion. The company doubled its dividend, in spite of a 72% drop in fourth quarter profit.

Diageo said fiscal first-half net profit fell 23% from a year earlier, when the global drinks giant reaped proceeds from selling a business, but strong North American sales boosted underlying profit.

In financial services news, Credit Suisse shares climbed in Swiss trading after reporting a fourth-quarter profit surge and saying CEO Oswald Gruebel will retire, to be succeeded by Brady Dougan, head of the investment bank.

Crude-oil prices rose 29¢ to US$58.29 a barrel after dropping more than $1 a barrel a day earlier following a report that U.S. inventories for distillate fuel declined less than expected.

Overseas, The FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% in London.

In Japan, fourth-quarter gross domestic product rose at a faster-than-forecast 1.2% quarterly clip. The Nikkei 225 closed 0.8% higher after the GDP rise.

Toronto stocks moved higher Wednesday, setting a fresh record close, as markets gained strength from higher commodity prices, despite a drop in the price of oil.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 32.70 points , or 0.25%, to 13,204.46, besting the previous mark of 13,184.30 set last week.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 34.41 points, or 1.14%, to 3.041.78.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 87.01 points to finish at 12,741.86, a record close. The S&P 500 lifted 11.04 points to 1,455.30, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 28.50 points to 2,488.38.