Stocks are looking stronger Thursday on a mix of good corporate and economic news. IBM is leading the way higher in the futures market after saying that its pension obligation will be less than expected.

As well, Merck says that its profit for 2003 will beat analyst expectations, and Wal-Mart Stores reported that its sales rose 2.6% last month.

On the downside, Corning Inc. reported that it is taking pretax charges of up to US$825 million in the fourth quarter to write down goodwill and other assets.

In economic news, U.S. initial jobless claims continue to fall, dropping 13,000 last week to 355,000. Analysts were not expecting another slide in claims.

In Europe, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 2.75%. The cut was its first in more than a year.

In Canada, building permit issuance totalled $4 billion in October, up 6.9% from September. This equalled record issuance set back in July. The high construction intentions in the residential sector were mainly responsible for this peak.

And, the Help-wanted Index fell for the fourth consecutive month, down 2.2% from October to 118.2. Decreases were recorded in all provinces where month-to-month comparisons were possible. The largest declines were in PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Europe, stocks are up on news of the rate cut. Names such as Aegon NV, Axa SA and Carrefour SA are all higher. The FTSE has gained 39 points to 4,087. The CAC 40 is up 75 points to 3,275. The German DAX rose 51 points 3,372.

Overnight in Asia, the markets were mixed. The Nikkei dropped another 89 points to 8,918. The Hang Seng added 14 points to 10,010.

In earnings news, Certicom Corp. announced its net loss for the quarter was $1.7 million, compared with a net loss of $22.8 million in the same period last year.

PanGeo Pharma Inc. reported its net income increased 46% to $5.3 million.