By James Langton

(July 6 – 09:00 ET) – There’s no major economic data out this morning, that comes tomorrow. However, there were hints in some numbers this morning. In the U.S. initial jobless claims for last week were reported. They were expected to be little changed at 305,000, instead they were reported down 12,000 to 296,000. This may indicate some strength in tomorrow’s labour data.

In Canada, there is only a minor report today, the Help-Wanted Index for June which came in on target unchanged at 169. There was little change in most provinces, although the index increased by an estimated 4.3% in Newfoundland, and dipped by 1.8% in Nova Scotia and 1.4% in British Columbia.

In Europe this morning the European Central Bank has left rates unchanged as expected, as has England’s central bank. Stocks are mixed in Europe this morning with telecoms up and tech firms down in general. In contrast, JDS Uniphase is trading up on its acquisition of rival E-Tek Dynamics Inc. And CIBC World Markets is out pounding the table on Research in Motion.

In London, the FTSE is up 19 points to 6,401. France’s CAC 40 is down 13 points to 6,449. In Germany the DAX is off 31 points to 6,930.

In M&A news Gambro AB, the world’s second-largest maker of medical products, is expected to buy Baxter International Inc., a Swedish dialysis services company.

In Asia stocks were mixed again with Japan sliding and Hong Kong up. The Nikkei closed off 153 points to 17,282. The Hang Seng added 15 points to 16,489.