Stocks were poised to open mixed Thursday following yesterday’s late afternoon rally. However, weak U.S. fourth quarter GDP may send stocks lower at the open.

The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter. U.S. GDP increased at an annual rate of just 0.7% according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 4%.

In addition, U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 25 rose 14,000, compared with a rise of 18,000 in the earlier week. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.

Statistics Canada is reporting that manufacturers’ prices continued to tail off in December, down 0.4% from November. Despite this decline, the Industrial Product Price Index was up 2.8% from December 2001, the largest year-over-year increase in 2002. Prices of raw materials were up 4.2% from November and 17.6% higher than one year ago.

In Europe, markets are higher. London’s FTSE 100 index gained 34.2 points to 3,518.

Frankfurt’s DAX is up 4.16 points to 2,710.73. Paris’s CAC 40 index has climbed 36.95 points to 2,877.

In this morning’s earnings news, Petro-Canada says its annual profit rose 15% in 2002 to $974 million. The firm said the increase was due to higher energy prices and a 440% increase in fourth-quarter earnings,

Yesterday Cascades Inc. reported an annual profit of $169 million for 2002, up 55% from 2001.

Also yesterday, fourth-quarter losses skyrocketed at AOL Time Warner Inc. as the firm took a staggering US$45.5 billion charge to account for its plunging value. Separately, the company announced that Ted Turner is stepping down as vice chairman.

In yesterday’s economic news, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board left interest rates unchanged, as expected. The key overnight lending rate remains 1.25%. The Fed also maintained its neutral stance.

And David Dodge, Governor of the Bank of Canada, told an audience in Toronto that Canada’s economy, while feeling the impact of world uncertainties, is showing sustained strength. To stay that way, he said the bank will likely need to raise interest rates in the coming year.