Early economic signals are mixed Thursday, foreshadowing a cautious start to the trading day.

In Canada, the momentum from last year’s record level of building permits for housing has spilled over into 2004. Statistics Canada says that municipalities issued almost $3 billion worth of building permits for housing in January, up 1.1 % from the previous high in December. “This augurs well for a busy spring for workers in the residential construction sector, as permits are a leading indicator of building activity,” says StatsCan.

The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index for February will be released later this morning.

In the U.S. initial jobless claims dropped significantly last week, but concern remains about job creations. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 7,000 to 345,000 in the week that ended Saturday, almost erasing the previous week’s increase, says the Labor Department. Economists had expected claims to drop by 5,000. Investors will be looking for positive signs of job growth on Friday when the Labor Department is scheduled to report on how many non-farm jobs were created in February.

In a separate report, the Labor Department says U.S. workers were less productive in the fourth quarter of 2003 than previously thought, suggesting employers may soon have to boost hiring. Non-farm business productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.6% from October through December, down from the initial estimate of 2.7%. That marked the lowest rate in a year, and was a sharp slowdown from the 9.5% rate recorded in the third quarter of 2003.

In Canadian business news today, financial reports are expected from Canadian Western Bank, health care services company, MDS Inc., grocer Sobeys Inc., Geac Computer and PetroKazakhstan and TLC Vision Corp.

In Europe at midday, stocks rose after the European Central Bank’s decision to leave rates unchanged at 2%. The Bank of England left its basic interest rate unchanged at 4%. In London, the FTSE100 Share Index gained 0.2% to 4,535.20. In Paris, the CAC40 Index rose 0.1% to 3,763.69 amid subdued trading. In Frankfurt, the Xetra DAX Index rose 0.3% to 4,083.20.

In Asia, a rally by Japanese banks and technology companies pushed Tokyo shares to fresh highs. The Nikkei Stock Average jumped 49.87 points, or 0.4%, to 11,401.79 — its highest close since June 11, 2002, when it ended at 11,449.44. However, Hong Kong shares fell just slightly. The Hang Seng Index shed 2.53 points, or 0.02%, to finish at 13,451.56.

On Wednesday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was off 12.31 points at 8,795.69. New York’s Dow industrials rose 1.63 points to 10,593.11. The Nasdaq composite index slid 6.29 points lower at 2,033.36, while the S&P 500 index added 1.94 points to 1,151.04.