North American markets are mixed Thursday as traders react to corporate earnings reports. At midday, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.31 point at 6,617.18.

Nortel Networks is 9¢ higher at $3.79 after the tech bellwether reported a quarterly net profit of US$54 million.

In other earnings news, Manulife Financial is off 35¢ to $38.80 after reporting its net income edged up by $1 million to $336 million but return on equity declined in an “extremely challenging” first quarter.

Quarterly earnings at Goldcorp rose 12% to US$14.4 million US while revenue was up 22% to $47.5 million. Its shares added 14¢ to $15.94.

Slocan Forest shares are higher after the company reported a profit of $5.1 million in the first quarter, down by $3.4 million from a year ago because of U.S. lumber tariffs, poor prices and a stronger Canadian dollar.

QLT shares have surged 81¢ to $16.93 after the pharmaceutical company posted a first-quarter profit of US$11.5 million and raised its 2003 forecast based on strong Visudyne sales.

Mining stocks are weak with both Noranda and Inco trading lower.

Active issues include Bombardier Air Canada, and Open Text.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average is off 38.86 at 8,476.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 5.86 points at 1,460.30. The S&P 500 is off 4.24 points at 914.78.

DaimlerChrylser shares are down after the automaker reported weaker first-quarter profit.

American traders were motivated to sell after the U.S. Labor Department said claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 last week to 455,000, the highest level in a year.

On the other hand, orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose an unexpectedly sharp two per cent in March, powered by demand for military equipment. That followed a 1.5 per cent decline in February.

The TSX Venture Exchange is off less than a point at 1,043.32.