North American stocks looked set to open lower Thursday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and as U.S. retailers report December sales.

Bernanke is scheduled to speak about markets, the economy and monetary policy at 13:00 ET

A number of U.S. retailers are cutting expectations as they post weak December sales figures affected by a sluggish pre-Christmas season.

Here at home, the value of building permits fell in November but still remained slightly above the $6-billion mark for a seventh consecutive month, Statistics Canada said.

At $68.1 billion, the total value of building permits from January to November has already surpassed the record for an entire year set in 2006, StatsCan noted.

Separately, StatsCan said the 12-month rate of growth in new housing prices held steady in November, the 15th straight month in which the year-over-year growth rate has not increased.

The Canadian dollar opened at US99.93, up two-fifths of a cent from Wednesday’s close.

In today’s earnings news, Jean Coutu Group Inc. said its second-quarter profit plunged to $9.5 million from a year-earlier $79.3 million, hurt by big losses at its Rite Aid drugstore chain in the United States.

Aluminum giant Alcoa posted a 76% profit rise, driven by gains form selling its packaging and consumer operation.

U.S. credit card company Capital One Financial cut its earnings forecast for the year by more than 20%, noting it plans to take a US$1.9 billion provision in the fourth quarter for loan losses.

Gold futures fell US$5 to US$876.70 an ounce. Crude-oil futures fell 98¢ to US$94.25 a barrel.

Overseas, the European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 4% Thursday amid signs inflation in the euro zone is on the rise. The Bank of England also held rates steady at 5.5%.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5% in Tokyo, while the FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% in London.

Toronto stocks rebounded from earlier losses Wednesday as financial stocks rallied late in the session.

The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 38.19 points, or 0.28%, to close at 13,582.93.

The financials sector finished the day up 0.8% as CIBC rose $2.04 to $69 and TD Bank advanced $1.16 to $66.29.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index lost 45.69 points, or 1.62%, finishing the day at 2,774.52.

In New York, markets rebounded after Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius predicted a mild recession this year that will last two or three quarters.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 146.24 points, or 1.16%, closing at 12,735.31. The S&P 500 was up 18.94 points, or 1.36%, at 1,409.13.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 34.04 points, or 1.39%, to settle at 2,474.55.