Wall Street futures are slightly higher this morning indicating a positive start to the day’s trading. A slew of very positive U.S. economic reports is preceding the market open.

The U.S. Labor Department says the number of workers filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a 34-month low last week. Initial jobless claims fell by 11,000 to 351,000. It was also the eighth consecutive week that claims have been below 400,000, the comfort level for economic stability.

In a separate report, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that durable-goods orders jumped 3.3% to $184.5 billion last month. October’s increase was the largest in 15 months. Economists had expected a modest increase of 0.6%.

Finally, a third report shows that consumers earned more in October but didn’t change their spending habits. Personal income rose 0.4%, after climbing 0.3% in September, but their spending remained unchanged. However, economists say spending remains a major factor in rebuilding a robust economy.

Here at home, Statistics Canada is reporting that manufacturers’ prices were down 0.9% in October, following three months of increase. This is largely the result of a strong Canadian dollar against the US dollar. Without the dollar’s influence, the Industrial Product Price Index would have risen 0.9% rather than falling 3.8%.

On a monthly basis, prices for motor vehicles and other transport equipment continued to fall (-1.7%), mainly because of the effect of the exchange rate. Lumber and other wood products were down 3.4% from September. Decreasing prices for softwood lumber as a result of higher inventories were responsible for this drop.

The next major piece of economic data for the day comes out at 09:45 ET — the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.

In Asia, stocks closed higher, with Tokyo’s Nikkei average jumping 184.63 points to 10,144.83. The Hang Seng index rose 78.60 to 12,086.67.

European markets are higher at midday. London’s FTSE 100 index is up 0.5%, rising 20.3 points to 4,409. Frankfurt’s DAX is up 1%. The Paris CAC-40 is up 0.5%.

On Tuesday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 27.81 points at 7,822.34. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average edged up 16.15 points to 9,763.94. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 4.10 to 1,943.04. The S&P 500 added 1.81 to 1,053.89.