North American markets are likely are headed for a flat open Thursday after the U.S. government said economic growth grew at a slower than expected rate in the first quarter.

Early today, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product rose at a 3.1% annual rate January through March in its first estimate for the first quarter. The 3.1% pace marked the weakest showing since the first quarter of 2003’s 1.9% growth, and was slower than economists’ forecast of an increase of 3.5%.

In a separate release, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by a seasonally adjusted 21,000 to 320,000 in the week that ended April 23, reversing most of the previous week’s decline. Economists had called for a 26,000 increase in initial claims.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said monthly prices for manufactured goods at the factory gate rose in March for a fourth consecutive month, but at a much slower pace than in February. Raw materials prices were up for a third month in a row as crude oil registered its largest increase since December 2002.

Separately, StatsCan said manufacturers were anticipating to maintain the same level of production in the coming three months.

In today’s earnings news, DaimlerChrysler said its net income fell 30% in the first quarter.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group said first-quarter earnings rose 40% from a year earlier.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported a first-quarter net profit of $81 million, up from $24 million a year earlier, as revenue increased 14% to $1.01 billion.

A midday rally spurred by falling oil prices pushed U.S. stocks into the black Wednesday, but the slip in crude helped keep Toronto markets deep in the red throughout the session.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 104.13 points or 1.10% to 9,323.52, while the junior TSX Venture Exchange slipped 25.03 points of 1.44% at 1,710.30.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrials bounced back after being down most of the morning to close up 47.67 points or 0.47% to 10,198.80. The Nasdaq added 2.99 or 0.16% to 1,930.43, while the S&P 500 index gained 4.64 or 0.4% to 1,156.38.

In Toronto, energy and gold stocks led the way lower. Gold issues did the most damage, falling 4.52% as the June bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange retreated $4.90 to US$433.10 an ounce.

Energy stocks lost 2.43% as oil plummeted $1.70 to US$52.50 on the Nymex in electronic trading following the government’s weekly inventory report, which showed a 5.5 million barrel increase in crude supplies, but a 300,000 barrel draw on gasoline; analysts had been hoping for a build.