North American markets look set to open higher Thursday, boosted by a much bigger-than-expected drop in consumer inflation in the United States.

The consumer price index fell 0.6% in November, its biggest decline since July 1949, after rising 0.2% in October, led by a record 8% drop in energy prices.

The closely watched core index, which excludes food and energy items, rose 0.2% after rising by the same amount in October.

The overall drop in consumer prices was bigger than Wall Street’s expectation of a 0.4% decline, but the core index matched forecasts.

Separately, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 329,000 in the week that ended Dec. 10. Economists had called for a decline of 7,000 in the latest week.

In earnings news, Bear Stearns posted a 15% rise in fourth-quarter net income, earning US$407 million, or US$2.90 a share. Goldman Sachs Group reported a 36% net increase, earning US$1.62 billion, or US$3.35 a share.

After the market close, Oracle and Adobe Systems are due to unveil their earnings.

Crude-oil prices fell 40¢ to US$60.45 a barrel in early trading Thursday, a day after the U.S. government said domestic stocks of crude rose.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 declined 1.4% to close at 15,254.44 due to yen strength.

European equities were moderately lower, with London’s FTSE 100 off 0.3% recently.

Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank, made an official 1.48 billion pound (US$2.6 billion) offer for the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, matching a previous proposal the exchange had rejected as too low.

Toronto stocks ended lower Wednesday, as a pullback in resource issues served to weigh the senior exchange down.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 41.63 points, or 0.37%, to 11,095.81 on the session

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished down 12.10 points, or 0.56%, to 2,129.53.

In New York, markets rallied in the aftermath of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s suggestions that it may be done raising rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 59.79 points, or 0.55%, to 10,883.51, and the broadly based S&P 500 index rose 5.31, or 0.42%, to 1,272.74, hitting a four-year high.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, meanwhile, fell 2.41, or 0.11%, to 2,262.59.