North American stock markets appear to be headed higher on Thursday as the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state jobless benefits fell 38,000 to 550,000 last week, providing another glimmer of hope that the economy may be on the road to recovery.

The four-week average of new claims, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, fell to 555,250, the lowest level since Jan. 24.

In Canada, Tim Hortons Inc. and Standard Life Financial Inc. reported strong results in the second quarter. Tim Hortons’ Q2 revenue rose by 8.9% to $556.1 million from $510.7 million in the same period a year ago.

Same-store sales, a measure of performance at outlets open at least 12 months, increased 1.7% in Canada and 3.3% in the U.S.

Tim Hortons said its profit for the quarter rose by 3.7% to $77.8 million from $75 million.

Standard Life Financial reported a second-quarter profit Wednesday of $48 million, up $13 million, or 35%, from the same period a year ago.

The company, which is Standard Life PLC’s largest operation outside Britain, said the results were underpinned by improving sales and continued strong client retention.

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based Canaccord Capital Inc reported that its fiscal 2010 first-quarter profit fell 45%, hurt mainly by a steep fall in interest revenue. The firm said it would continue a dividend suspension policy.

The brokerage reported earning $9.1 million for the quarter ended June 30 vs $16.5 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue fell more than 20% to $137.5 million.

Additionally, Canaccord its assets under administration in Q1 2010 were $10.3 billion, down 29.6% from $14.7 billion at the end Q1 2009.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2%. In late morning trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6%, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.4%, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.7%.

On Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange finished with modest gains, boosted by materials and financial stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 28.83 points, or 0.3%, to close at 11,046.93.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index was flat on Wednesday, finishing at 1,194.99.

Market indices in New York finished the day lower, after new data showed that the private sector shed more jobs than economists had expected in July.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 39.22 points, or 0.4%, to end at 9,280.97.

The S&P 500 index slipped 2.93 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,002.72.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 18.26 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 1,993.05.