North American stock markets are looking at a positive open Friday as Canada’s unemployment rate dipped in August.

Canada’s economy continued to churn out jobs at a brisk pace in August, with employment surging by 59,000 — triple the number economists had been expecting.

But Statistics Canada reported the unemployment rate slipped just a 10th of a percentage point to 7.5%, as another 53,000 people entered the labour force .

The manufacturing and construction secotrs saw the biggest increases in employment, with 21,000 new manufacturing jobs and 12,000 more construction jobs.

In the United States, the unemployment fell to 5.7% in August from 5.9% in July. Employers added 39,000 new jobs last month.

After the bell last night, Intel Corp. cut its sales forecast, but the cut was less than some feared. The tech giant is rallying on trader relief. However, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., has cut its profit forecast for the current quarter.

In other news, more tough talk from U.S. president Bush on a possible attack on Iraq has oil prices higher.

In Europe, stocks are already higher on the Intel news. Infineon Technologies AG and ARM Holdings plc are up after the better than expected sales forecast from Intel. The FTSE has gained 30 points to 4,040. The CAC 40 is up 44 points to 3,183. And, the DAX has added 57 points to 3,412.

Overnight in Asia, stocks weren’t so soothed by the Intel news. The Nikkei lost 93 points to close the week at 9,129. The Hang Seng lost just five points to 9,721.

In M&A news, British billionaire Philip Green is buying Arcadia Group plc for US$1.2 billion in cash.