Wall Street stock futures moved higher Thursday after data showed only a slight rise in number of people drawing jobless benefits.

U.S. initial claims for jobless benefits rose 3,000 to 608,000 in the week ended June 13, the U.S. Labour Department said in its weekly report. Economists had expected a 2,000 rise.

The four-week average of new claims, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, fell 7,000 to 615,750, the lowest level since mid-February.

Later this morning, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to testify to Senate and House committees on proposals to revamp the U.S. regulatory system. U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled the proposals on Wednesday.

Here at home, Canada’s annual inflation rate came in at 0.1% in May, down from 0.4% in April, owing to a year-over-year decline in energy prices, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

After the CPI report’s release, the Canadian dollar trengthened slightly to US88.39¢, up from the pre-data level of USß88.26¢.

In commodities news, oil futures were higher, with Nymex crude futures gaining 28¢ a barrel to $71.31.

In today’s earnings news, gold miner Iamgold Corp. said it expects higher production and lower costs for this year.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 137.13 points, or 1.4%, to 9,703.72, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 307.94, or 1.7%, to 17,776.66.

In Europe, benchmark indices in the UK, Germany and France were down by about 0.3% each.

The Toronto Stock Exchange plummeted lower on Wednesday for its fourth consecutive drop, bringing benchmark index’s total loss so far this week to nearly 600 points.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 241.29 points, or 2.3%, to close at 10,066.11. Since Friday’s close, the benchmark index has shed 578.85 points.

Energy shares tumbled 3.5% on Wednesday despite a small boost in crude prices.

The S&P/TSX Venture index fell 23.82 points, or 2.1%, to end at 1,115.37.

In New York, the main U.S. stock market indexes finished the session mostly flat, unchanged by the U.S. government’s proposals for reform of financial sector regulation.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished at 8,497.18, down 7.49 points, or 0.1%.

The S&P 500 index dipped 1.26 points, or 0.1%, to close at 910.71.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 10.88 points, or 0.7%, to end at 1,808.06.

IE