Wall Street futures are pointing to a positive start for stocks this morning. In Canada investors will be coping with a slide in gross domestic product and the prospect of another cut to interest rates.

Economic activity slipped 0.1% in January, says Statistics Canada, following an increase of 0.5% in December. Weak North American auto sales hampered the manufacturing, retailing, wholesaling and transportation sectors. Weak oil and gas production and exploration reduced the mining sector. Less consumer demand for new housing pushed down residential construction and real estate agents and brokers.

The good news in the GDP report is that the finance sector continued to enjoy gains from the recovery in North American stock markets, says StatsCan. And extremely cold temperatures across the country provided a windfall to the utilities sector.

The result of the overall slide, say economists, is that another interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada is back on the table.

Another report from StatsCan shows that manufacturers’ prices were up 1.8% in February following an increase of 0.6% in January. But compared with February 2003, prices fell 2.5%, largely due to the effect of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar. Without the dollar’s influence, says StatsCan, the Industrial Product Price Index would have risen 1.1% rather than falling 2.5% from February 2003.

The Chicago manufacturing index is due out at 10:00 ET. Following the trend begun by the Empire manufacturing index for the New York region, an improvement in the Chicago index is not expected.

Canadian gold stocks may get a boost today from an announcement that came late on Tuesday that Wheaton River Minerals and Iamgold have made a $3 billion deal. The deal would create Canada’s second-largest gold producer.

In earnings news, ATI Technologies reported a quarterly profit of US$47.6 million US and announced today that company president David Orton will be the new chief executive. Orton takes over from K.Y. Ho, who remains chairman under the cloud of allegations about illegal insider trading.

In London, the FTSE100 Share Index is up 8.6 points, or 0.2%, to 4421.40. In Frankfurt, the Xetra DAX Index is up 11.60 points, or 0.3%, to 3,885.70. In Paris, the CAC40 Index has advanced 24.27 points, or 0.7%, to 3,644.37.

Standard Life Assurance Co. announced today it is shedding 1,000 jobs in a bid to cut costs and added it plans to change its ownership structure. The job cuts will affect the Edinburgh-based company’s U.K. Life and Pensions business and represent about 20% of staff in the division. Standard Life employs 14,500 people worldwide, including 11,000 in Britain.

Asia’s main indices closed higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average edged up 21.71 points, or 0.19%, to 11,715.39. Advances by banks, builders, steelmakers and other domestic-related sectors pulled the Nikkei higher. Shares in Hong Kong rose marginally. The Hang Seng Index added 40.28 points, or 0.3%, to 12,681.67.

On Tuesday, stock markets rose for the second consecutive day due to higher oil prices and indications that U.S. consumer confidence is holding steady. Energy and tech stocks pushed Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index to a 67.01-point gain at 8,622.24.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 52.07 points higher to 10,381.7. The Nasdaq composite index gained 8.06 points to 2,000.63, while the S&P 500 index moved ahead 4.53 points to 1,127.