TSX heads for higher open as ECB cuts rates

Economists, however, warn this cut may not have much direct effect since banks are not passing on low rates in indebted countries that need help the most.

Traders looked to a news conference later in the morning to see if the ECB does more to encourage growth. A lending program for small- and medium-sized business, or SMEs, may be announced by ECB head Mario Draghi too.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.11 of a cent to 99.31 cents US.

U.S. futures were also positive after Toronto and New York indexes racked up triple-digit losses on Wednesday after lower levels of expansion in manufacturing sectors set off a new round of concerns about the Chinese and American economies.

The Dow Jones industrial futures rose 59 points to 14,695, the Nasdaq futures were ahead 14 points to 2,877.5 and the S&P 500 futures were up 6.8 points to 1,584.1.

European markets were slightly higher since the rate cut had been largely priced-in. London’s FTSE 100 index added 0.02%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.41% and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.01%.

There were also plenty of earnings reports to consider, including one from Canada’s largest life insurer.

Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC) posted net income of $540 million or 28 cents a share, down sharply from $1.22 billion a year ago as insurance sales fell 23% to $619 million. Core earnings for the quarter were up 18% to $619 million, or 32 Canadian cents per share, which matched expectations.

Clothing manufacturer Gildan Activewear (TSX:GIL) reported net earnings of US$72.3 million or 59 cents per share on a diluted basis, exceeding its earlier guidance of 54 to 57 cents per share. Net sales rose more than 8% to US$503 million. It also upgraded its outlook for the year.

Goldcorp (TSX:G) handed in quarterly net earnings of $309 million compared to $479 million in the first quarter of 2012. Adjusted net earnings totalled $253 million, 31 cents per share, compared to $404 million or 50 cents per share a year ago. Revenues came in at $1 billion.

In the U.S., General Motors’ net income fell 14% to $865 million or 58 cents a share in the first quarter, weighed down by losses in Europe and weaker earnings in North America. Ex-items, GM earned 67 cents per share, compared with analysts’ forecast of 54 cents. Revenue fell 2.3% to $36.9 billion, still slightly ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $36.6 billion. Worldwide sales rose 3.6% to more than 2.3 million cars and trucks.

After the markets closed Wednesday, social networking company Facebook said that its quarterly net income was $219 million, or nine cents per share, up from $205 million, also nine cents per share, in the same period a year ago when the company was still private.

Revenue grew to $1.46 billion from $1.06 billion, above analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion as nearly a third of its advertising revenue came from mobile during the quarter.

Ex-items, Facebook earned 12 cents per share, matching the average of analyst expectations.

Commodity prices were higher after the weak economic data Wednesday pushed prices sharply lower.

The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 43 cents to US$91.46 a barrel.

July copper gained five cents to US$3.13 after tumbling 11 cents while June bullion recovered about half of Wednesday’s loss, up $12.80 to US$1,459 an ounce.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3%.