Stocks are looking to open flat on Friday, with investors considering a mixed outlook for the technology sector by Nokia and IBM.

U.S. housing starts jumped 6.4% in March, rebounding after two straight months of decline the Commerce Department reported this morning. It was the largest gain since last May, fueled by low interest rates.

Economists will get another look at the U.S. economy at 9:15 ET, when industrial-production numbers are to be released.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

In this morning’s earnings news, tech bellwether Nokia warned that its second-quarter earnings will be well below market expectations, as the mobile-phone giant posted a 16% drop in first-quarter net amid slower-than-expected sales of handsets and multimedia devices.

Yesterday after the markets closed, IBM posted a 16% rise in quarterly profits, while Sun Microsystems reported a larger-than-expected loss.

IBM said its first-quarter profits rose to US$1.6 billion, matching Wall Street estimates, as revenues rose by about 10%.

In other business news, Canada’s big banks raised long-term mortgage rates by more than a quarter of a percentage point as borrowing costs jumped in the bond market. The Royal Bank, the Bank of Montreal, CIBC, TD Canada Trust and National Banks all announced rates on two-year to 10-year mortgages would increase, effective Friday. A two-year closed mortgage at CIBC jumps a quarter point to 4.8%, while a five-year term increases nearly one-third of a point to 6.25% and a 10-year term increases by one-fifth of a point to 7.95%.

On Thursday, the S&P/TSX composite index closed down 2.95 points at 8,637.17 on volume of 248.5 million shares worth $3.54 billion.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index added 6.98 points to 1,795.87.

In New York, markets finished on a mixed note. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 19.51 points, or 0.19%, at 10,397.46. The tech heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 22.68 points, or 1.12%, to 2,002.17.

In other business news, Canada’s big banks raised long-term mortgage rates by more than a quarter of a percentage point as borrowing costs jumped in the bond market. The Royal Bank, the Bank of Montreal, CIBC, TD Canada Trust and National Banks all announced rates on two-year to 10-year mortgages would increase, effective Friday. A two-year closed mortgage at CIBC jumps a quarter point to 4.8%, while a five-year term increases nearly one-third of a point to 6.25% and a 10-year term increases by one-fifth of a point to 7.95%.