Wall Street stock futures edged lower Thursday ahead of jobless-claims data, and after the Bank of England held its key interest rate steady at 0.5%.

Here at home, the Bank of Canada delivers its interest rate announcement at 9:00 ET. The target for the key overnight rate is expected to remain unchanged at 0.25%.

In other economic news, StatsCan reports on international merchandise trade for July. Economists expect a surplus of $100 million, compared with a deficit of $100 million the previous month.

South of the border, government reports on the trade balance and initial jobless claims are due.

In commodities news, oil prices rose above US$72 a barrel in Asia amid a slumping U.S. dollar and steady OPEC production levels. Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 84¢ at US$72.15 a barrel by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, the Japanese Nikkei 225 Average rose 2% to 10,513.67. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 1.1%.

European stocks turned lower. Frankfurt’s DAX slipped 0.1% to 5,569.30, and the CAC-40 Index in Paris was 0.4% lower at 3,692.27.

The UK’s FTSE 100 was off 0.5% to 4,980.05 as he the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee opted Thursday to keep its bond-buying program and key interest rate unchanged,

On Wednesday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange suffered a triple-digit point loss on Wednesday as materials stocks tumbled.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 105.13 points, or 1%, to close at 11,000.17.

The materials group tumbled 2.3% and the sub-gold index fell 3% as gold futures dipped lower.

The heavily weighted financials group fell 1.7%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 5.41 points, or 0.4%, to close at 1,235.65.

In New York, the main U.S. stock market indices enjoyed a fourth consecutive session of gains as the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book offered a mixed view of the economy. The business survey said that economic activity continued to stabilize in August, while labour market conditions remained weak.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 49.88 points, or 0.5%, to 9,547.22.

The S&P 500 index advanced 7.98 points, or 0.8%, to 1,033.37.

The Nasdaq composite index added 22.62 points, or 1.1%, to end at 2,060.39.

IE