Wall Street stocks futures pointed to a lower open Thursday after the previous session’s rally, as China deflated investors’ hope that the country will boost spending.

Stocks rallied world-wide Wednesday on speculation that a stepped-up Chinese stimulus plan would help revive the global economy. But Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday deflated such hopes as he largely reiterated a previous US$585 billion plan. Though the Shanghai Composite built on Wednesday’s gains, the Hang Seng slipped 1%.

Here at home, the value of Canadian building permits slipped to $4.4 billion in building permits in January, down 4.6% from December.

Increases in both institutional and commercial permits were not enough to offset the decreases in the value of residential sector in five provinces, Statistics Canada said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US77.92¢ on Thursday, down 0.49 of a cent from Wednesday’s close.

South of the border, U.S. claims for state unemployment benefits fell last week for only the third time since the start of the year.

Initial claims for jobless benefits fell 31,000 to 639,000 after seasonal adjustments in the week ended Feb. 28, the U.S. Labour Department said in a weekly report.

Separately, U.S. productivity unexpectedly fell at the end of 2008, revised government data showed, as nonfarm business output posted its steepest plunge in almost three decades.

In business news, General Motors said in its annual report that its auditors have raised serious doubt about the company’s ability to continue operating.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores posted a 5.1% jump in February same-store sales, more than double analysts’ expectations, pushing its shares up more than 3%.

Other U.S. chains also reported generally better-than-expected sales for last month.

In commodities news, light, sweet crude fell US$1.39 to US$43.99 a barrel in electronic pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Europe, the European Central Bank cut its primary lending rate to a record low of 1.5%, from 2%.

The Bank of England became the first European central bank to implement quantitative easing policy, saying that it would purchase up to $106.28 billion in mostly medium and long-term U.K. government debt. The Bank of England also cut its key interest rate by a half point to 0.5%.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down more than 2% and Germany’s DAX index was down 2.5%, and France’s CAC-40 was down 2%.

On Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange was carried higher by a sharp boost in the heavyweight energy group as oil futures surged 9%.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 183.13 points, or 2.4%, to close at 7,814.75.

The boost followed gains among stock markets around the world on optimism surrounding a new stimulus plan set to be released in China on Thursday.

Energy stocks surged 6.6% after data showing a surprising decline in U.S. oil inventories sent crude futures higher. Crude oil for April delivery gained US$3.73, or 9%, to end at US$45.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A boost in junior company stocks sent the junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index up 6.88 points, or 0.8%, to close at 830.95.

The Canadian dollar gained nearly a cent against the American dollar, to close at US78.41¢.

Stocks in New York also finished higher on Wednesday, bouncing back from the 12-year lows that the main indexes have hit in recent sessions.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 149.82 points, or 2.2%, to 6,875.84.

The S&P 500 index gained 16.54 points, or 2.4%, to 712.87, and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 32.73 points, or 2.5%, to 1,353.74.

IE