Stocks are expected to open higher this morning after a stronger than expected GDP report in the United States.

Traders were cheered on the news that the U.S. economy only shrank 0.4% in the third quarter. The decline was less than half of what economists predicted.

In Canada, August GDP was reported largely flat for the fourth straight month. Monthly GDP rose 0.1% in August, only the fifth time in the past 12 months that the economy as a whole showed any improvement.

There were pockets of strength in new home-building, wholesale trade, the oilpatch and the information and cultural service industries. The manufacturing sector, which had been in decline since October 2000, edged up slightly in August.

Despite the good economic news, poor corporate results continue to flow in. Alcatel SA is cutting 10,000 jobs in Europe. It projects a US$4.5 billion loss this year. Deutsche Bank AG saw its third-quarter profit slide 49%. And, Comcast Corp., has reported a US$16.8 million quarterly loss.

European markets have also been cheered by the U.S. GDP news after a couple of days of fretting over the economy. The FTSE is up 67 points to 5,070. The CAC 40 has gained 75 ticks to 4,327. The DAX is up just 13 points to 4,557.

Overnight in Asia, markets closed before any good news, to more losses. The Nikkei dropped 146 points to 10,366. The Hang Seng slid two points to 10,074.

In earnings news, Homestake Mining reports third quarter net income of US$3.2 million, compared to a net loss of US$77.4 million for the corresponding period in 2000.

Delano Technology Corp. saw its net loss widen to $13.2 million in the quarter, from $9.2 million last year.