U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Thursday, while the Toronto Stock Exchange is scheduled to open on schedule this morning after an unexpected shutdown Wednesday due to technical problems.

Trading on the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange will resume using Tuesday’s market closes.

In today’s economic news, price reductions were a key factor in the 0.9% drop in retail sales in October, Statistics Canada reported. Sales declined in six of the eight sectors. If price changes are factored in, retail sales in terms of volume were up 0.1%.

Separately, StatsCan reported that Canadian investors repatriated substantial funds from international markets, as they sold $12.3 billion of foreign securities in October — the largest divestment on record.

In contrast, foreign portfolio investment reached $2.8 billion and was dominated by the acquisition of Government of Canada bonds on secondary markets, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar opened up 0.68 of a cent at US84.42¢.

In commodities news, light, sweet crude rose 55 cents to $40.61 a barrel in electronic premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, markets were mostly higher.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.64%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.24%.

In late morning trading, the UK’s FTSE 100 was up less than 0.01%, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.96%, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.65%.

A daylong trading halt on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange left Canadian investors in limbo on Wednesday, after the exchange experienced technical problems with data feeds.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities fluctuated between positive and negative territory and ultimately finished in the red, pulled down by utilities and financials.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 99.8 points, or 1.1%, to finish at 8,824.34.

The Nasdaq composite index slipped 10.58 points, or 0.7%, to end the day at 1,579.31.

The S&P 500 index dipped 8.76 points, or 1%, to close at 904.42, dragged down by technology and energy shares.

IE