North American stock markets are poised for a strong start on Thursday as investors take in some economic news and look to avert new bear-market lows by searching for some beaten down shares.

The U.S. Labour Department reported on Thursday morning that producer prices climbed 0.8% in January, marking the first rise since July. Additionally, energy prices in the U.S. rose by 3.7%. The core PPI, which strips out food and energy prices, rose by 0.4%. Economists were expecting producer prices to climb by 0.4% in January. They predicted the core PPI would rise by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Labour Department also reported that t he number of U.S. workers continuing to claim jobless benefits jumped to a record high in the first week of February, while new claims for unemployment insurance last week was unchanged at a very high level.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits were a seasonally adjusted 627,000 in the week ended Feb. 14, unchanged from an upwardly revised 627,000 the previous week. According to Labour Department data, new claims hovered close to a 26-year high.

Analysts had forecast 620,000 new claims vs a previously reported figure of 623,000 the week prior.

Overseas, most Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, with Toyota Motor Corp. lifting Japanese stocks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3% at 7,557.65.

China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% after suffering big losses earlier in the week, with the performance doing enough to tip Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index into the positive territory after a choppy late session. The index ended up 0.1%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 overcame an early fall on Thursday to end up 1.1% while South Korea’s Kospi ended down 0.6%, taking losses into a fourth day this week as financials extended their decline on economic worries. Singapore’s Straits Times index lost 1.3% and India’s Sensitive index added 0.3%.

European stock markets were mostly higher Thursday.The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 0.4% to 184.07. Overall, the French CAC-40 index rose 0.6% to 2889.94, the German DAX 30 index climbed 0.4% to 4220.04 while Britain’s FTSE 100 index advanced 0.1% to 4011.76.

On Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange experienced a third consecutive day of declines, shedding more than 2% on weakness among energy and financial stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 202.75 points, or 2.4%, to close at 8,175.95.

The Canadian dollar advanced against the greenback, gaining US0.35¢ to close at US79.48¢.

The main indices in New York were largely unchanged on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.03 points, or 0.04%, to end at 7,555.63. The S&P 500 retreated less than one point to end at 788.42.The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.69 points to 1,467.97.
IE