North American markets are expected to open flat Thursday, as mixed readings on U.S. jobless claims and import prices counter solid earnings from Barrick Gold, Wal-Mart Stores and Hewlett-Packard.

This morning the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims slid to their lowest level in more than four years, down 2,000 to 302,000, after seasonal adjustments, in the week that ended Feb. 12. Wall Street economists had expected a 12,000 rise in initial claims.

Separately, the Labor Department said overall import prices rose 0.9% in January, as petroleum imports recovered somewhat from declines the previous two months. Non-petroleum prices were up 0.2% last month. Economists had forecast overall prices to rise 0.5%.

Later today, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will deliver the semiannual monetary report before the House Financial Services Committee.

Yesterday, Greenspan offered a rosy picture of the U.S. economy in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. “All told, the economy seems to have entered 2005 expanding at a reasonably good pace, with inflation and inflation expectations well anchored,” Greenspan said.

Also today, the U.S. Conference Board is slated to release its index of leading indicators. Economists look for a modest 0.2% decline for the month of January.

In earnings news, Barrick Gold said its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter despite lower gold production as gold prices increased.

Retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores reported a 16% rise in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit as strength at its namesake Wal-Mart and international divisions helped offset sales weakness early in the holiday season.

The Canadian subsidiary of insurance giant ING made $173.1 million in the fourth quarter, results well ahead of the $24.7-million profit it had in the last three months of 2003.

After markets closed yesterday, Hewlett-Packard posted better-than-expected revenue for its fiscal first quarter and offered a relatively strong sales outlook.

Energy and resource stocks powered the Toronto Stock Exchange to a solid gain Wednesday, while a Dow Jones rally following upbeat remarks on the U.S. economy by Fed chief Alan Greenspan came up just short.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 69.56 points or 0.73% to 9,639.59, while the S&P/TSX Venture composite index added 7.44 points or 0.39% to 1900.37. Gainers outnumbered losers by a margin of two to one.

The Dow Jones industrial average, down throughout the session by as much as 33 points, rallied and briefly pushed into the black after Greenspan’s comments. But it finished the day down 2.44 points or 0.02%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 1.78 points or 0.09% to 2,087.43 and the S&P 500 was flat, up 0.22 of a point to 1,210.34.

The Canadian dollar took a tumble Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened on Greenspan’s comments. The currency was down 0.39 of a cent to US80.87¢ late in the day.

In New York, stocks almost made it back to the unchanged mark as investors took in Greenspan’s upbeat assessment of the nation’s economy, while taking note of his warning that interest rates may still be too low.