The Canadian Press

North American stock markets appeared headed for a higher open after data showed that third quarter U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 3.5% annualized pace.

It was the best showing in the U.S. economy in two years and was fuelled by government-supported spending on cars and homes and signalled that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended.

In the wake of the announcement, the Dow Jones industrial futures were 59 points higher to 9,770, the Nasdaq futures were up 14 points to 1,694 while the S&P futures advanced 8.5 points to 1,047.1.

The Canadian dollar was slightly higher, up 0.14 of a cent to US92.86¢.

Stocks have been on an almost non-stop ascent since March as traders welcomed signs the economy was stabilizing and starting to improve. Investors have recently pulled back though, worried the market might be climbing faster than the economic recovery.

The Toronto market lost 248 points Wednesday, adding up to a 728 point loss over four straight sessions after a disappointing report on sales of new U.S. homes helped ignite worries about the pace of a recovery.

The TSX could get support from the energy sector was the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was 61¢ higher to US$78.07 a barrel. Prices fell over US$2 a barrel Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that gasoline stocks rose 1.7 million barrels last week while analysts had expected a fall of one million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Crude supplies rose 900,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.

Since last week, crude has retreated from US$82 a barrel, the high for 2009, as the U.S. dollar gained back some of its losses from recent months.

The December bullion contract on the Nymex was ahead US$4.40 to US$1,034.90 an ounce while copper was up 1¢ at US$2.94 a pound.

Investors also took in another slew of Canadian earnings reports.

Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) posted a quarter loss of US$5.4 billion or US$6.07 a share.

That included a non-cash accounting charge of US$5.7 billion due to the windup of its gold hedging program. Adjusting for the accounting charge, Barrick had a profit of $473 million or 54¢ per share, up from US$404 million or 46¢ per share last year.

Teck Resources Limited (TSX:TCK.B) said Wednesday it earned $609 million, or $1.07 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $424 million or 95¢ per diluted share a year ago. Revenue totalled $2.13 billion, up from $1.74 billion.

Beverage maker Cott Corp. (TSX: BCB) is reporting a quarterly profit of US$13.9 million or 18¢, reversing a year-earlier $87.6-million loss.

The world’s third-largest soft drink provider said quarterly revenue dipped to $404.9 million from $420.5 million a year ago but met analyst expectations.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust (TSX:COS) bumped up its quarterly distribution by 40% on Wednesday even as it reported a sharp drop in quarterly earnings. The trust declared a quarterly distribution of 35¢ per unit, payable on Nov. 30, up from the current payout of 25¢ per unit.

In the U.S., Procter&Gamble Co. says quarterly profit was off 1% at US$3.35 billion as consumers around the world kept tight reins on spending for such household items as laundry detergent and shavers. But the world’s largest consumer products company sees signs of a rebound in results that were better than expected, and a better sales outlook for the rest of the year.

In Asia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Taiwan all declined 2% or more after Wednesday’s U.S. government report showed new home sales fell unexpectedly in September for the first time since March. That fuelled fears the housing rebound was driven solely by government policies that are being withdrawn before the private sector recovers.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.3% while China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 2.3%.

London’s FTSE 100 was off 0.4%, Frankfurt’s DAX moved down 0.25% while the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.37%.