Stocks are pointing to a slight up open this morning, led by techs such as Veritas Software, Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks. Profit optimism is returning to those stocks.

On the economic front, initial jobless claims in the United States rose by 15,000 last week. This is slightly more than expected, but not enough to spook traders.

In Canada, Statistics Canada has released data on international transactions in securities during March. According to StatsCan, foreign investors bought $6.2 billion worth of Canadian bonds in March, their largest investment in almost seven years. They also increased their holdings of Canadian equities for the third consecutive month, adding $1.5 billion. Unlike February’s investment, which went to newly issued treasury shares, March’s foreign investment went to shares in the secondary market. Canadians purchased $2.1 billion worth of foreign stocks and $1.3 billion worth of foreign bonds during March.

Canada’s Composite Index for April was also released, coming in unchanged after a downward-revised drop of 0.2% in March and no change in February. This was the fifth straight month without growth. The weakness came in the stock market and manufacturing; household demand remained a source of strength.

In Europe, stocks are up on profit optimism. Techs and financials are leading the way, with Vodafone Group plc, HSBC Holdings plc and Prudential plc driving gains. The FTSE is up 27 points to 5,924. The CAC 40 has gained 30 ticks to 5,661. The DAX is up 63 points to 6,278.

Overnight in Asia, stocks followed through on yesterday’s slide. The Nikkei dropped 172 points to 13,896. The Hang Seng slid 29 points to 13,811.

In M&A news, Pride International Inc. is buying Marine Drilling Cos. for US$1.92 billion in stock.