Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared headed for a higher open Thursday amid higher commodity prices after Chinese economic growth figures came in a bit better than expected.

The Canadian dollar strengthened for a second day driven partly by a lower U.S. dollar. The loonie rose 0.26 of a cent to 98.09 cents US.

U.S. futures pointed to a positive open as the U.S. corporate earnings results season continues to largely beat forecasts. The Dow Jones industrial futures rose 69 points to 11,132, the Nasdaq futures climbed 17.25 points to 2,101 while the S&P 500 futures gained 6.6 points to 1,181.

China’s rapid growth slowed to a still strong 9.6% in the third quarter from the year before. Though that was down from 10.3% in the previous quarter, it was modestly higher than expectations. There was also relief that inflationary pressures remained fairly benign.

Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital, said the data were “consistent with a ‘soft landing’ scenario for China.”

Hopes that a slowing economy won’t dent demand too badly pushed the December copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up three cents to US$2.82 a pound.

The December gold contract on the Nymex rose $2 to US$1,346.20 an ounce.

But oil prices slipped after gaining more than US$2 a barrel Wednesday following a report showing commercial crude inventories rose less than analysts expected, adding 700,000 barrels. But a surprise 1.2 million barrel jump in gasoline supplies dismayed traders.

“Demand is getting worse,” Cameron Hanover said. “Lower demand is also telling another element of the story of weakness in the U.S. economy.”

The December crude contract in New York shed 22 cents to US$82.32 a barrel.

Earnings news out of the U.S. will also be a big feature during the session. In particular, investors looked at Caterpillar’s results to get an insight into the state of the construction sector.

Strong sales growth in developing countries pushed Caterpillar’s third-quarter earnings 96% higher to US$792 million or $1.22 a share, easily beating expectations of $1.09. The world’s largest maker of mining and construction equipment boosted its outlook for 2010 and predicted more growth next year. Its stock was up about 1% in premarket trading.

After the close, highlights include Amazon and American Express.

“There’s no shortage of other reports due either and any big surprises could start to shift sentiment,” said Chris Weston, research analyst at IG Markets.

Nokia Corp. is moving quickly to restructure its lagging smartphone business, announcing Thursday it would lay off 1,800 people even as third-quarter earnings bounced back from a year-ago loss. The world’s largest mobile phone maker reported third-quarter net profit of 529 million euros (US$733 million). The profit compares to a net loss of 559 million euros in the third quarter last year. Net sales in the quarter grew 5% to 10.2 billion euros and its shares were up 2% in premarket trading in New York.

In Canada, Precision Drilling Corp. (TSX:PD) said its third-quarter profits slipped to $61 million as it booked a lower foreign exchange gain. Canada’s largest independent oil and gas driller said earnings were equal to 21 cents per share, which was ahead of analyst estimates of nine cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenues increased to $359 million from $253 million.

On Wednesday, stocks rallied on the back of solid earnings from the likes of Boeing and Delta Airlines.

Also, commodity stocks recovered from a shock on Tuesday when China announced a surprise interest rate hike, Beijing’s latest move to cool the hot economy.

In corporate news, BHP Billiton told shareholders Thursday that it will not be caught up in a bidding war for Canadian fertilizer giant PotashCorp (TSX:POT) if the deal erodes shareholder value. BHP has bid $130 a share or US$38.6 billion for PotashCorp (TSX:POT) in what would be the biggest takeover in Canadian history. However, the Saskatchewan company has sought a white knight bidder and stock markets have expected a higher offer that BHP would have to match or top. Thus far, no rival bid has yet emerged.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index closed down 0.1%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day flat.

Among gainers, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4% and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.2%.

Chinese shares were mixed Thursday — the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7%.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.85%, Frankfurt’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 climbed about 1%.