North American markets are likely to open flat Friday following yesterday’s solid gains by the Dow and the S&P/TSX composite index.

Technology stocks will likely be under pressure by a soft revenue outlook from computer giant Dell.

Dell announced after markets closed Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit dropped 11% because of a tax charge, but operating earnings jumped 21%. However, the company reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue.

There are no major economic releases scheduled for release in either Canada or the United States today.

In this morning’s earnings news, CAE Inc is cutting 450 jobs, reducing its dividend and posting a third-quarter loss of $347 million after taking a huge writedown of assets. The special charge amounts to $443.3 million said.

Meanwhile crude-oil prices edged up 2¢ to US$47.12 a barrel in early trading Friday. On Thursday, the price of crude prose $1.64 to US$47.10 a barrel on worries over world supplies.

That helped the S&P/TSX composite index gain 93.73 points, or 1.0%, to finish at 9,496.36.

Volume was heavy with 348 million shares changing hands.

Energy shares led the gainers, rising 2.87%. Gold shares gained 2.92% as the price of April bullion gained $4.20 to US$418.70.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average surged ahead 85.50 points, or 0.80%, at 10,749.61. The S&P 500 Index gained 5.02 points, or 0.42%, at 1,197.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.55 point, or 0.03%, at 2,053.10.