North American markets look headed for a weak opening Friday, as mixed earnings reports from bellwethers Citigroup and General Electric could pressure stocks.

Citigroup said fourth-quarter earnings grew 30%, boosted by a US$2.1 billion gain, earning US$1.37 a share, but the company’s adjusted earnings of US98¢ a share missed consensus estimates of US$1 a share.

Fellow Dow component General Electric said earnings fell 46% for the quarter due to losses in its discontinued insurance unit.

Motorola, meanwhile, reported an 86% increase in earnings for the fourth quarter, fueled by the popularity of its handsets and recovery of more than US$500 million in debt outstanding from a Turkish wireless operator.

In M&A news, Barrick said Friday it will extend its $12.1 billion takeover bid until February 23 “to allow Placer Dome shareholders an additional opportunity to tender to the offer.”

Barrick said 81% of the common shares of Placer Dome, or 78% on a fully diluted basis, were tendered by Thursday’s deadline.

Meanwhile, crude-oil prices rose 35¢ to US$67.18 due to ongoing political concerns related to Iran and Nigeria.

In today’s economic news, Canadian wholesale sales were down 0.2% in November from the pervious month as a lacklustre automotive sector dragged down an otherwise healthy performance, Statistics Canada said today.

Total wholesale sales for the month were $40.5 billion. Excluding the automotive sector, sales rose 1.1%, the agency said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.02¢, up 0.11 of a cent.

The preliminary reading of U.S. consumer sentiment as measured by the University of Michigan will be released later this morning.

Asian markets ended flat.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.41 of a point to finish at 15,696.69 points. Friday’s session wound up a turbulent week in which the market plunged amid jitters over a criminal probe into prominent Internet company Livedoor Co.

In Hong Kong, shares fell slightly Friday. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 8.34 points, or 0.1%, to 15,662.08.

Toronto stocks rallied Thursday, buoyed once again by resource sectors, allowing the market to shake off yesterday’s retreat.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 138.48, or 1.20%, to 11,692.97, after falling 135.12 points in the previous session

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 45.08, or 1.90%, to 2,421.18.

In New York, markets rallied on a strong first-quarter outlook from AMD Inc. and upgrades of oil services stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 25.85 points, or 0.24%, to 10,880.71. The S&P 500 rose 7.11, or 0.56%, to 1,285.04, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 22.17 points, or 0.97%, to 2,301.81.