The Canadian Press

Stock markets appeared headed for a lower open Thursday as the latest earnings report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised worries about consumer strength.

The Dow Jones futures were down 42 points to 10,217, the Nasdaq futures lost 7.75 points to 1,776 while the S&P 500 futures declined 4.5 points to 1,091.8.

The Canadian dollar drifted lower, down a fifth of a cent from Tuesday’s close to US95.03¢.

Wal-Mart reported a 3.2% increase in third-quarter profit to US$3.24 billion and revenue rose to US$99.4 billion from US$98.3 billion. The retailer beat expectations for earnings and revenue but the company said that sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.4% during the quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter that it saw this important measure fall.

Investors were already pausing before the Wal-Mart report, having sent stocks rallying sharply over the past week. Record-low interest rates and the resulting slide in the U.S. dollar have been major forces behind the recent surge in stocks.

Toronto energy stocks could be weak as the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down 87¢ to US$78.41 a barrel amid signs that U.S. crude demand remains weak and as the dollar strengthened.

The American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday that crude supplies rose last week and traders will be closely watching the Energy Information Administration’s inventory report later Thursday.

Gold prices backed off from Wednesday’s latest record close with the December contract in New York down US$1.50 to US$1,113.10 an ounce.

December copper slipped two ¢ to US$2.94 a pound.

In Canadian earnings news, telecom giant BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) reported that net income applicable to common shares more than doubled to $558 million in the third quarter, up from $248 million a year earlier. Operating revenue came in at $3.78 billion, up $40 million.

Diversified investment company Onex Corp. (TSX:OCX) lost $180 million in the third quarter, reversing a year-earlier profit largely due to impairment charges at its Hawker Beechcraft aviation business. Onex’s third-quarter loss amounted to $1.48 per share compared to net earnings of $38 million or 30 ¢ per share in the third quarter of 2008. Revenues declined 14% to $6.1 billion.

FNX Mining Company Inc. (TSX:FNX) says its third-quarter loss more than doubled as it took a $53-million writedown on its investment in Gold Wheaton Gold Corp. (TSX:GLW) and revenue plunged by 75% from a year ago. FNX reported that its net loss was $58.5 million in the third quarter compared with a year-earlier loss of $26.5 million.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined one%.

London’s FTSE 100 index and the Frankfurt DAX inched up 0.02% while the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.14%.