Global indicators were mostly positive for North American stock markets Thursday while oil prices dipped, and U.S. supermarket chain with Whole Foods Market agreeing to buy a rival specialty food retailer.

Whole Foods late Wednesday agreed to buy smaller rival Wild Oats Markets for about US$565 million and backed its forecast for same-store sales growth between 6% and 8%.

In economic news, Canadian corporations earned record high operating profits of $231.7 billion in 2006, led by solid growth in the wholesale, retail, construction and banking industries, Statistics Canada reported today.

In the fourth quarter, profit growth continued with a 1.5% increase, following a 3.5% gain in the third quarter.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.21¢, up 0.02 of a cent.

South of the border, the U.S. Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000 in the week ended Feb. 17. D

Oil prices fell but held above US$59 a barrel Thursday ahead of U.S. government inventory data expected to show crude stockpiles rose. Light sweet crude for April delivery fell 41¢ to US$59.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

In today’s earnings news, TD Bank Financial Group boosted its quarterly dividend 10% even as first-quarter net profit dropped to $921 million from a year-earlier $2.3 billion. The previous year’s earnings included a $1.67-billion gain from selling TD Waterhouse U.S.A. to Ameritrade.

U.S. luxury-home builder Toll Brothers said net income fell 67% in its fiscal first quarter, hit by write-downs and an impairment charge. Revenue declined 19% to US$1.09 billion.

Key European indexes were higher in early action.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 195.58 points, or 1.09%, to 18,108.79 , one day after the Japanese central bank raised a key interest rate.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 157.81 points, or 0.8%, to 20,809.23.

The Toronto stock market shook off early losses and closed with a slight gain Wednesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index inched up 10.63 points to 13,330.28, its fifth record high in the past six session, amid a major merger in the agriculture sector.

Five of the 10 TSX1 0 main groups were higher, with the resource-laden materials group reversing course late in the day to end 1% higher on a rise in gold prices. Strength in gold stocks offset softer energy issues, which did not follow a surge in the price of crude.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 12.48 points to 3,136.63.

On Wall Street, blue-chip stocks fell on higher-than-expected consumer inflation.

The Dow Jones industrials closed 48.23 points lower to 12,738.41. The Nasdaq composite index edged up 5.38 to 2,518.42 and the S&P 500 index dipped 2.05 to 1,457.63.