Stocks look set to rise at Thursday’s open, driven by some strong corporate news. Trader sentiment is bullish after Nokia Oyj said that cellphone sales may climb up to 15% next year. Stocks such as Qualcomm Inc. and RF Micro Devices Inc. are up on the news.

In economic news, U.S. durable goods orders slipped 0.6% in August, a lower than expected drop. Also, there is some mildly positive news on the U.S. jobs front. Initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell more than expected last week.

The one bit bad corporate news stems from Barrick Gold. It said that it expects 2002 earnings per share in the 33¢-35¢ range, compared to earlier guidance for earnings in the 42¢-47¢. Also, Nortel Networks lowered its sales guidance, and suggested that it will propose a large share consolidation.

In Europe, stocks are up on the Nokia news. Also, higher sales forecasts came from PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW. Allianz AG reported that it will take a US$391 million charge for cutting 3,000 workers. The FTSE is up 93 points to 3,789. The CAC 40 has gained 110 points to 2,896. And, the DAX is up 73 points to 3,036.

Overnight in Asia, stocks also had a positive session. The Japanese Nikkei rose 156 points to 9,321. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 146 points to 9,271.

In M&A news, M&T Bank Corp. is buying Allied Irish Banks plc’s U.S. business for about US$3.1 billion.

In earnings news, Mitec Telecom Inc. reported that its first quarter net loss was $6.4 million, compared to a net income of $684,000. In addition to the effects of reduced sales and margins, the first quarter net loss includes a restructuring provision of $400,000 and non-cash foreign exchange losses of $1 million.