The Canadian Press

North American stock markets appeared headed for a flat open amid fresh worries that China will have to slow economic growth in order to control inflation.

China’s inflation rate jumped to 2.7% in February over a year earlier from 1.5% in January.

Investors have been dismayed twice so far this year after the Chinese government made moves to tighten bank lending by raising reserve requirements in order to keep the economy from overheating.

The Canadian dollar was off a slight 0.02 of a cent to 97.46 cents US.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrials slipped nine points to 10,566, the Nasdaq futures lost 3.5 points to 1,915.2 while the S&P 500 futures were 2.1 points lower at 1,143.6.

There was little movement in oil prices, as the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped a penny to US$82.08.

BP PLC is partnering with Devon Energy Corp. to develop an Alberta oilsands project as part of a much larger deal in which BP will pay US$7 billion to buy exploration rights in several countries from the American company. BP will sell a 50% stake in its Kirby leases for US$500 million to Oklahoma-based Devon, which already has an oilsands project in the same area.

And Paramount Energy Trust (TSX:PMT.UN) has signed a deal to acquire oil and natural gas assets in the Edson area of west central Alberta from an unidentified company for $126 million. The trust will help pay for the deal with a $50-million offering of trust units.

The April bullion contract on the Nymex was off US$1.80 to US$1,106.30 an ounce while May copper was unchanged at US$3.37 a pound.

Markets are stuck in a tight range this week with a lack of economic reports keeping a lid on big movements this week.

Investors looking for fresh data to see if the U.S. economy is indeed strengthening will be taking in the Labour Department’s latest report on weekly jobless claims.

Economists predict workers seeking unemployment benefits for the first time likely fell last week for the second straight week. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predict first-time jobless claims fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 460,000.

On Friday, Canadian investors will focus on the February employment report from Statistics Canada.

Economists expect that about 15,000 jobs were created last month.

On the earnings front, Montreal-based travel company Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX:TRZ.A) reported a $13.9-million net loss last quarter. That was less red ink than a year earlier, but revenue was also down by nearly 10%.

Elsewhere, the Bank of Nova Scotia and its Thai affiliate, Thanachart Bank, have reached an agreement to acquire nearly 48% of Thailand’s Siam City Bank from the country’s Central Bank. The deal is worth a reported $984 million. Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) owns 49% of Thanachart.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average gained 0.9% despite the government cutting its estimate of fourth-quarter growth. The market was boosted by a news report the government will soon upgrade its economic assessment for this year.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.1%.

London’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.35%, Frankfurt’s DAX added 0.04% while the Paris CAC 40 was down 0.41%.