Stocks are poised to open lower Thursday as the number of U.S. jobless claims rose.

The U.S. Labor Department said weekly jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 316,000 for the week ended August. 13. This is the highest level since July 9 and larger that analysts expected.

Economists had forecast unemployment claims to rise 2,000 to a level of 310,000.

Later this morning, the U.S. Conference Board is slated to release the July index of leading indicators. Economists look for a modest 0.1% increase in the index after a 0.9% increase in June.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is expected to release its manufacturing report for August at noon. Economists expect the Philadelphia Fed index to show a reading of 12.0, up from 9.6 in July.

Statistics Canada said Canadian investors acquired a robust $5.4 billion of foreign securities in June. This was a return to the pattern of strong acquisitions over the early part of the year after a relatively small purchase in May.

Meanwhile, following nine months of continuous buying, the government agency said foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $2.1 billion in June.

The Canadian dollar opened at US82.28, down 0.15 of a cent. On Wednesday, falling oil prices contributed to a slide in the loonie as it finished the day down 1.01¢.

Crude oil prices posted gains Thursday, a day after plunging nearly US$3. The front-month September contract for light sweet crude gained 37¢ to US$63.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In business, Google plans to sell 14.2 million shares of Class A common stock, which at current market prices would raise more than US$4 billion, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In international banking news, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC announced a major move into the Chinese market Thursday, heading up a US$3.1-billion investment in Bank of China that will give the British bank control of a 10%stake. RBS is contributing US$1.6 billion of the investment in Bank of China, the country’s second-largest bank, giving it a direct stake of just over 5%.

In overseas trading, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index rose 34.25 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 12,307.37.

Hong Kong shares dropped two per cent as property, oil and telecom stocks all fell sharply. The Hang Seng Index dropped 301.49 points to 15,148.09.

Toronto stocks fell Wednesday, while New York markets ticked higher, as investors in both countries reacted to a big drop in the price of oil.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 34.11, or 0.32%, to 10,500.72.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery dropped $2.83 to settle at US$63.25 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the U.S. Energy Department said crude oil inventories grew by 300,000 barrels last week to 321.1 million barrels, or 11% above last year’s level.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped12.26 points, or 0.64%, to 1,888.83.

In New York, the drop in the price of crude and good corporate news offset economic reports that raised inflation worries.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 37.26, or 0.35%, to 10,550.71. The tech-heavy iNasdaq composite index rose 8.09, or 0.38%, to 2,145.15, while the S&P 500 index rose 0.90, or 0.07%, to 1,220.24.