North American stocks are likely to open higher Thursday as U.S. retailers reported moderate sales gains for November and U.S. personal consumption rose at a slower pace.

U.S. personal income grew during October, driven by climbing wages and by insurance payments arising from the hurricanes, while consumer spending rose only mildly amid sagging demand for cars.

Personal income went up at a seasonally adjusted monthly rate of 0.4%, after shooting 1.7% higher in September and falling by 1.0% in August, the U.S. Commerce Department said today.

October personal consumption grew 0.2%, after rising 0.5% the month before.

U.S. retailers reported modest sales gains for November, helped by falling gasoline prices, but early, aggressive discounting hurt some high-end stores. Retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores said same-store sales rose 4.3%.

Later this morning, the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index and October construction spending numbers are due at 10 a.m. Wall Street calls for a decline in the business index and an increase in construction spending.

There are no major economic announcements from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US85.69¢, down 0.01 of a cent.

In M&A news, Canadian winemaker Vincor International Inc. has rejected Constellation Brands’ sweetened $1.48 billion takeover offer, or $33 a share.

In other business news, Conrad Black is expected to plead not guilty Thursday when he appears in a U.S. federal court in Chicago to face a raft of charges alleging massive fraud at media company Hollinger International Inc.

The European Central Bank raised its key rate a quarter point to 2.25%, the first increase in five years, as the bank put inflation fears above worries about growth.

European markets also were higher, with mergers-and-acquisition activity helping markets.

Oil prices fell slightly Thursday despite a report from the U.S. government that showed declines in crude and gasoline inventories last week. Light sweet crude for January delivery dropped 13¢ to US$57.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 broke through the 15,000 level for the first time in five years with gains of more than 200 points on Thursday.

Toronto stocks fell Wednesday, as an upward move in oil prices couldn’t offset losses across the broader market as investors moved to lock in profits.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 118.49, or 1.08%, to 10,824.14.

Volume on the senior exchange was 309 million shares.

The information technology sector fell 1.93%, mostly due to an adverse ruling on Research in Motion.

RIM shares fell $3.79, or 5.84%, to $61.13, after a U.S. judge denied an attempt by the maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry handheld device to enforce a US$450 million settlement deal with patent company NTP.

The financials sector lost 1.39%, after a strong report on third-quarter GDP renewed fears of higher interest rates.

Royal Bank reported earnings of $3.4 billion for 2005, with fourth-quarter profits coming in at $522 million. Shares dropped $1.18, or 1.31%, to $89.02.

Domtar cut 1,800 jobs in Canada as it tries to cut costs in a troubled pulp and paper sector. Its stock slipped 2¢ to $6.20.

Bombardier shares fell 17¢ to $2.41 as it reported a US$9 million Q3 loss, missing analysts’ estimates by a penny a share.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 3.09 points, or 0.15%, to 2,050.03.

In New York, markets were mixed to close out an otherwise strong November.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82.29 points at 10,805.87, the Nasdaq composite index ended essentially flat, up 0.11 point at 2,232.82. The S&P 500 Index fell 8 points to 1,249.48.

A report from the U.S Commerce Department showed the U.S. grew at a revised 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the best showing in more than a year.

For November, the Dow gained 3.5%. The Nasdaq rose 5.3% and the S&P climbed 3.5%.