U.S. initial jobless claims have dropped below the crucial 400,000 mark for the first time in five months.

The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of workers filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits decreased by 29,000 to 386,000 last week.

The four-week average, which smoothes out weekly fluctuations, declined by 5,500 to 419,250, a four-month low.

This has proved to be good news for Wall Street futures, which are trading positively ahead of the market open. But a Labor Department spokesman said the numbers should be viewed with caution, because claims data tend to be volatile in the summer. Initial claims fluctuate sharply in July, partly because automobile plants shut down for retooling.

There’s no major economic news from Statistics Canada today, but earnings reports continue to pour in.

Celestica is reporting that it had a second-quarter loss of US$39.6 million, as revenue fell 29% to US$1.6 billion. The company’s CEO says it has hit it is seeing more stability in overall demand.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is reporting a quarterly earnings increase of 150% from last year’s levels. Potash Corp. says it earned $29.9 million in profit, as sales rose by one-third to $657 million.

Other big Canadian companies reporting today include Nortel Networks, Aliant, Manitoba Telecom, Corus Entertainment, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, George Weston, Manulife Financial and Husky Energy.

In Asia markets rose during Thursday trading. Tokyo’s Nikkei average rose 55.66 points to 9,671.00, due to gains in technology and export-related companies.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rebounded slightly, rising 22.58 points to 9,923.14.

Meanwhile, markets are up in Europe. London’s FTSE 100 index is up 1.1%, gaining 44.5 to 4,131 by midday. Frankfurt is up 0.9%, despite sharply lower earnings at DaimlerChrysler. Paris’s CAC-40 has gained 1.1%.