Stocks may open higher as investors respond to a U.S. GDP report that matched analyst expectations. U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.8% in the second quarter, down from the already disappointing initial estimate of 3%. Corporate profits, however, were up sharply from a year earlier

Economists had expected the GDP reading to slip to 2.7%, from an initial estimate of 3%, due to an unexpected jump in the U.S. trade deficit.

In other economic news, oil prices rose overnight, in recent trading October futures contracts are up US36¢ to US$43.46 a barrel. Yesterday, oil prices fell for the fifth consecutive day.

Among other items investors will be watching Friday are a midmorning reading on U.S. consumer sentiment, and an address later by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to a gathering of global economists in Jackson Hole, Wyo..

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

Royal Bank is scheduled to release its third-quarter results later today.

Asian stock markets closed higher overnight. Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 80.26 points, or 0.72%, to 11,209.59.

Hong Kong’s main Hang Seng Index rose 34.03 points, or 0.26%, to 12,818.42.

Toronto stocks ended lower Thursday amid weakness in the heavily weighted financials group. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 40.03 points, or 0.48%, at 8,331.34 on volume of 163 million shares.

The TSX financials group slipped 0.66% as shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank slipped 97¢, or 2.18%, to $43.58 after the bank said it buy a 51% in Banknorth Group Inc. of Portland, Maine, in a cash and stock deal worth US$3.8 billion U.S.

National Bank and Laurentian bank both closed lower after reporting stronger third-quarter earnings. National Bank shares slipped 49¢ to $44.50, while Laurentian shares fell 20¢ to $28.05.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 6.39 points to close at 1,514.92.

On Wall Street, U.S. blue chips were flat in light trading, but technology stocks slipped lower after Banc of American Securities cut its forecast for the semiconductor industry.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 8.33 points, or 0.08%, at 10,173.41. The S&P 500 rose 0.13 points, or 0.01%, at 1,105.09. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index slipped 7.80 points, or 0.42%, at 1,852.92.