Thursday should be a quiet trading day for Canadian stocks with markets in the United States closed for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Canadian investors will get their chance to weigh on the federal government’s decision to cut the dividend tax rate to deal with the tax arbitrage issue surrounding income trusts.

Finance Minister Ralph Goodale announced the change after markets closed Wednesday. He also said the government would resume issuing tax rulings on trust conversions.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada said corporations earned record high operating profits of $55 billion in the third quarter of 2005, a 2.9% increase over the second quarter.

The government agency said soaring oil and natural gas prices propelled energy sector profits to record highs, accounting for virtually all of the overall profit gain.

Later today, Bank of Canada deputy governor Pierre Duguay speaks in Halifax.

Global indicators were mixed early Thursday. London shares reversed early gains as losses for real estate developer British Land and banking group HBOS outweighed a buoyant mining sector. Recently, the FTSE 100 was down 0.42%.

London-listed hedge-fund company Man Group Plc said Marathon Asset Management had replaced it as purchaser of assets and accounts of London businesses of bankrupt U.S. brokerage Refco.

European stock markets remained volatile with early gains evaporating by lunch-time as heavily-weighted oil, banking and pharmaceutical sectors retreated. The German Dax was off 0.24%, while in Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.45%.

Overnight in Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index rose 34.26 points, or 0.23%, to finish at 14,742.58, its highest close since Dec. 14, 2000. On Wednesday the Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed for a national holiday.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng index rose 22.04 points, or 0.2%, to 15,084.39.

The Canadian dollar opened at US85.43¢, up 0.11 of a cent.

Toronto stocks finished higher Wednesday, despite lower oil prices, as the market was pushed up financials and the telecom sector and absorbed news of a takeover bid for Dofasco.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 27.05, or 0.25%, to 10,919.80.

Placer Dome recommended shareholders reject a hostile bid from Barrick Gold. Placer Dome fell 50¢, or 1.94%, to $25.30 while Barrick fell 67¢, or 2.41%, to $27.14.

Research In Motion said new subscribers for the current quarter will be off 8% from previous forecasts. RIM shares lost 80¢, or 1.19%, to $66.28.

TD Bank reported its fourth-quarter earnings dropped $6 million to $589 million. Shares were up 7¢, or 0.21, to $59.55.

In other corporate news, Arcelor SA of Luxembourg made an offer of $56 per share in an all-cash hostile bid for Dofasco. Dofasco shares finished up $14.30, or 32.50%, to $58.30 on heavy trading.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 19.34, or 0.95%, to 2,054.03.

In New York, markets closed higher before the Thanksgiving Day holiday on lower energy prices and positive corporate news.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 44.66 points at 10,916.09, the S&P 500 closed up 4.38 points at 1,265.61 and the Nasdaq Composite index moved up 6.42 points at 2,259.98.