North American stocks are expected to open little changed Friday, as traders await data on existing home sales in the United States.

A report on February existing home sales is due at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists call for a 2% decline in existing home sales last month, down from a 3% gain in January.

Here at home, Statistics Canada reported that operating revenues for wholesalers hit $626.5 billion in 2005, up 7.6% from 2004. The rate of growth was slightly slower than the 9.1% increase in the previous year.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.38¢, up 0.04 of a cent.

In earnings news, sneak maker Nike reported an 8% profit rise.

Palm reported a better-than-forecast quarterly profit.

In M&A news, a faction of Citigroup is arguing for the bank to make a bid for ABN Amro Holding, the Dutch bank that is in exclusive talks to merge with Barclays.

General Electric will offer as much as US$1.15 billion for Sanyo Electric Credit.

A key stakeholder in Qantas Airways said Friday it won’t accept an US$8.9-billion bid for the airline, throwing into doubt one of Australia’s biggest proposed takeovers.

In other market news, Blackstone Group LP, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms, said Thursday it plans to raise up to US$4 billion in a highly anticipated initial public offering.

Crude-oil prices fell 31¢ to US$61.38 a barrel after surging more than US$2 a barrel Thursday after the government reported more robust refinery usage for the first time in weeks.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 closed with a 0.4% rise in Tokyo, while the German DAX 30 slipped 0.1%.

Toronto stocks moved modestly lower Thursday, after posting a triple-digit gain in the previous session, as a strong day in the energy sector couldn’t offset weakness in the technology and telecommunications indexes.

The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 15.91 points, or 0.12%, to 13,139.64.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 25.90 points, or 0.84%, to 3,123.84.

In New York, markets were mixed, and little changed, as investors took a breather after yesterday’s triple-digit gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 13.62 points, or 0.11%, to 12,461.14, the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.18, or 0.17%, to 2,451.74, and the S&P 500 dipping 0.5 of a point, or 0.03%, to 1,434.54.