The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared heading for a positive open Thursday as commodity prices moved higher amid weakness in the U.S. dollar.

Oil and metal prices had backed off Wednesday while the greenback strengthened at the expense of the euro as sovereign debt concerns again topped investor worries. The latest concern centred around a downgrade of Portugal’s debt by the Fitch ratings agency.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.54 cent to US98.07 cents after declining almost nine-tenths of a cent on Wednesday.

Beyond U.S. dollar strength, the loonie also fell amid a warning from Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney that Canadians could be facing higher interest rates sooner than previously thought as a result of stubborn inflation and stronger economic growth. It has been thought for some time the bank would boost rates sometime after the end of the second quarter, but some economists now think the first move could come as early as the beginning of June.

U.S. futures also pointed to a higher open as jobless insurance claims data beat forecasts. The Dow Jones industrial futures advanced 39 points to 10,826, the Nasdaq futures gained 7.75 points to 1,959.25 while the S&P 500 futures were up 5.2 points to 1,169.8.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week as layoffs ease and hiring slowly recovers.

The U.S. Labour Department said first-time claims dropped by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 442,000, below analysts’ estimate of 450,000.

The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 37 cents to US$80.98 a barrel after losing ground Wednesday in the wake of data showing increased U.S. crude inventories, which suggested consumer demand remains weak.

The April gold contract on the Nymex rose $4.80 to US$1,093.60 an ounce while May copper was unchanged at US$3.35 a pound.

The sovereign debt crisis will still be high on the agenda Thursday as European Union leaders meet in Brussels to try and overcome division on how to provide possible assistance to Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is insisting that any European bailout for Greece be only a last resort and must involve the International Monetary Fund.

Greece is battling to scale down unsustainably high debt. But it has had to pay high interest rates on bond markets, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou says are crippling his efforts to plug a huge budget deficit.

Market worries over the lack of a safety net for a member of Europe’s currency union drove the euro down Wednesday to its lowest level since May.

Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.1 per cent while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average edged up 0.1 per cent.

London’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.51 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 advanced 0.76 per cent.

In corporate news, Lululemon Athletica Inc. (TSX:LLL) said its profit more than doubled in its latest quarter, rising to $28.5 million or 40 cents per share from $10.9 million or 16 cents a share in the year-earlier period. The specialty clothing retailer’s revenue also improved, rising to $160.6 million from $103.9 million.

Electronics chain Best Buy said better sales of notebook computers and flat-panel TVs helped fourth-quarter earnings rise 37 per cent to US$779 million or US$1.82 a share. Revenue increased 12 per cent to US$16.55 billion. Higher electronics sales were partly offset by lower selling prices. Earnings came in above expectations as did its outlook for the coming fiscal year.