North American markets are likely to open higher Thursday as oil-price fears recede.

Oil futures prices, which hit US$44.34 US a barrel on the New York futures market earlier this week, slipped below US$43 on Thursday.

In this morning’s economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 11,000 to 336,000 in the week that ended July 31, their lowest level since the week ended July 3.

The claims figure for the previous week was revised to show an increase of 6,000 to 347,000, it said. The four-week average, which flattens out weekly fluctuations, rose by 6,750 to 343,500. Economists say an average below 350,000 is usually a sign that jobs are growing.

There are no major economic news releases from Statistics Canada today.

Financial issues will be eyed with Manulife Financial Corp. and Kingsway Financial Services Inc. due to report quarterly results on Thursday.

In Europe, the Bank of England boosted its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% Thursday to try to stifle the inflationary effects of rocketing house prices and strong consumer spending.

The European Central Bank, meanwhile, left its rates unchanged.

Both decisions were widely expected.

Asian markets closed higher overnight as oil prices retreated from a recent record high.

Japan’s Nikkei closed up 50.87 points, or 0.46%, at 11,060.89, with investors buying into high-technology issues.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 211.66 points, or 1.72%, closing at 12,491.92.

On Wednesday, declining oil prices triggered a brief buying spree on Wall Street, but caused investors on Bay Street to lock in profits.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 101.18 points, or 1.2%, to 8,362.96, while the TSX Venture Exchange slipped 10.04 points, or 0.66%, to 1,501.5.

On Wall Street, the Dow industrial average eked out a gain after being down much of the day. It finished the day ahead 6.27 points at 10,126.51. The Nasdaq dropped 4.36 to 1,855.06, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.06 to 1,098.63.