Stocks are looking at a weak opening Thursday on some negative economic data and a string of poor corporate news. Traders in the pre-market reacted negatively to the news that last week’s U.S. initial jobless claims number stayed above 400,000. The fear is that the U.S. recovery will stall on the lack of job creation.

Also in the negative column was news that U.S. housing starts fell 2.2% in August to 1.6 million.

The negative corporate news is led by Electronic Data Systems Corp., which cut its profit forecast citing declining revenues. The epidemic of weak top line growth at firms such as EDS, McDonald’s and Oracle Corp. has traders worried about the profit picture.

Also on the bearish side, HealthSouth Corp. reported that it is being investigated by the SEC over the quality of its disclosure, and insider sales.

On the upside, FedEx saw its earnings increase 45% last quarter. And, ConAgra Foods’ earnings were up 21%.

In Europe, stocks are down already. The EDS news is whacking firms such as Cap Gemini SA. The FTSE is down 64 points today to 3,801. The CAC 40 has dropped 75 points to 2,926. And, the DAX is down 99 points to 3,026.

Overnight in Asia, traders closed a mixed session. The Nikkei clawed out a 198-point gain to close at 9,669. But the Hang Seng dropped 46 points to finish the day at 9,428.

In M&A news this morning, Open Text is buying Centrinity for $1.26 per share in cash. The companies expect the transaction to close in the next quarter. The closing is subject to regulatory approval and Centrinity shareholder approval. The board of directors of Centrinity unanimously approved the transaction and will call a special meeting of shareholders to approve the deal.

In earnings news, MDS Inc. reported third quarter basic earnings per share increased 38% from 16¢ in the third quarter of 2001 to 22¢ in the same period this year.