Wall Street stock futures slipped Thursday after a report showed a rise in initial claims for U.S. jobless benefits.

Initial claims for jobless benefits rose 15,000 to 576,000 in the week ended August 15, the highest level in three weeks, the U.S. Labour Department said.

Here at home, wholesale sales rose for the first time in nine months in June, mainly due to increases in the automotive products and food, beverages and tobacco and products sectors, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

Sales in current dollars rose 0.6% to $40.4 billion, StatsCan said.

In earnings news, U.S. department-store operator Sears Holdings posted a surprise loss for the second quarter. Sales at stores open at least a year fell by 8.6%.

Overseas, Shanghai’s main index surged 4.5% to 2,911.58, a day after slumping nearly 5%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average climbed 1.8% to 10,383.41, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 2% to 20,336.36.

European benchmarks were also stronger in recent trading. The UK’s FTSE was up 1.4% at 4,756.71 while Germany’s DAX rose 1.7% to 5,322.35. The CAC-40 in France was 1.6% higher at 3,507.03.

Firmer oil prices helped the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange close with a modest gain on Wednesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 12.99 points, or 0.12%, at 10,686.83.

It was a volatile day, as the index tanked around 150 points within minutes of the opening bell, then sprang up as high as 70 points during mid-afternoon.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 10.45 points, or 0.90%, to finish at 1,176.95.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose as rising crude oil prices helped shake off a slide in China’s equity market.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 61.22 points, or 0.66%, to 9,279.16. The S&P 500 rose 6.79 points, or 0.69%, to 996.46. The Nasdaq composite index added 13.32 points, or 0.68%, to 1,969.24.

IE