North American stocks look headed for a flat start Thursday morning following yesterday’s solid gains.

In today’s economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said nonfarm business productivity grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.6% from January through March, the fastest clip in nine months. That was up from a 2.1% rate in the previous three months. Economists expected a 1.8% gain in productivity.

In a separate release, the Labor Department also said initial jobless claims rose by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 333,000 in the week that ended April 30. Economists had called for a gain of 5,000 claims.

Statistics Canada said the total value of building permits issued by municipalities reached $5.27 billion in March, up 4.9% from February and the second highest level on record.

The government agency said the value of non-residential permits reached a record-high in March.

An uptick in oil and gold prices and a bid for a greater stake in the world’s largest automaker helped spark markets in Canada and the U.S. to triple-digit gains Wednesday.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 102.32 points or 1.09% at 9473.29 while the TSX Venture composite index added 17.21 points or 1.03% to 1,683.27.

On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average jumped 127.69 points or 1.24% higher at 10384.64. The Nasdaq composite added 29.16 points or 1.51% to 1962.23 and the S&P 500 index gained 14.48 points or 1.25% to 1175.65.

Spot gold prices jumped $2.30 to US$429.00 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies in European trading. Oil prices, meanwhile rebounded from earlier lows, rising 63¢ to settle at US$50.13 per barrel on the NYMEX after a weekly government report showed rising supplies of crude oil and gasoline.

In New York, U.S. investors cheered some good news —billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian’s bid to substantially add to his stake in General Motors Corp.

Kerkorian’s commitment to troubled auto maker GM carried a powerful message.

GM soared $5.03 or 18.11% to $32.80 after Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. offered to pay about $870 million for a nearly 5% stake in the automaker, a deal that would boost the billionaire’s stake in GM to nearly 9%. Kerkorian is seeking to purchase 28 million shares at $31 apiece.