North American stocks are likely to open little changed Thursday as market watchers eye retailers’ December sales.

U.S. retailers posted modest sales gains for December as shoppers were selective on Christmas purchases, either splurging on a few hot items or holding out for steep discounts. Wal-Mart’s same-store sales rose 2.2%.

On the economic front, U.S. initial jobless claims plunged to a five-year low last week.

The number of people filing for U.S. state unemployment benefits plunged by 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 291,000 in the week ending Dec. 31, the lowest since September 2000, the U.S. Labor Department said today.

Reports on Canadian and U.S. employment for the month of December will be released Friday.

Data on the U.S. services sector for December is slated for release at 10:00.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

In business news, General Motors and Ford Motor lost more market share in December, and industry executives are warning that a softening U.S. housing market, higher interest rates and continuing volatility in energy prices could put a damper on auto demand this year.

Online brokerage Ameritrade Holding Corp. on Wednesday said its shareholders voted to approve its planned acquisition of TD Waterhouse Group Inc., a division of Toronto-Dominion Bank.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based Ameritrade in June agreed to buy rival TD Waterhouse for $3.34 billion (US$2.9 billion) in stock.

Crude-oil prices fell 14¢ to US$63.28 a barrel in early trading Thursday.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.82¢, down 0.39 of a cent.

Overseas, European stock markets paused after weeklong gains, while Asia markets continued to advance.

On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX composite index moved up 59.90 points, or 0.52%, to 11,501.48, the benchmark’s second record closing high in as many days.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished down 0.99 of a point at 2,273.48.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks rallied for a second day lifted by gains in technology shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed 32.74 points higher at 10,880.15. The Nasdaq composite rose 19.72 points to 2,263.46, while the S&P 500 Index ended up 4.66 points at 1,273.46, marking its highest closing level since mid-2001.

Shares of Google Inc. advanced 2.3% to US$445.24 after Bear Stearns & Co. raised its rating on the stock.