North American stocks may open on a mixed note Friday amid a profit warning from Dell, Microsoft’s plan to buy back US$40 billion of its own stock and strong Google earnings.

Dell said it expects revenue and earnings per share in the second quarter to come in lower than forecast, amid aggressive pricing in a slowing market world-wide.

On Thursday, Microsoft reported a 24% decline in quarterly profit, hurt by legal expenses, as sales rose 16%. The giant software maker also announced a stock-buyback program that includes a US$20 billion tender offer.

Google’s second-quarter profit doubled and revenue soared 77%. The company reported results after markets closed Thursday.

Advanced Micro Devices reported second-quarter results in line with a warning last month that suggested price cuts by Intel would hold down revenue growth. The announcement came one day after Intel reported a 57% decline in second-quarter profit.

Canadian National Railway delivered a second-quarter net profit of $729 million, up 75% from a year earlier, thanks to a deferred income tax recovery, record high revenues and improved operating efficiency.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada says gasoline prices slowed their upward march in June, bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.5%, down from May’s 2.8% increase. The agency said the core inflation rate, which excludes volatile components such as energy, came in at 1.7%.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.5¢, up 0.23 of a cent.

In M&A news, HSBC Holdings agreed to buy a Panamanian bank for US$1.8 billion.

Crude-oil prices rose 53¢ to US$74.80 a barrel in early trading Friday on speculation that Israel was ramping up preparations for a major ground offensive in Lebanon.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 index fell 125.58 points, or 0.84%, to 14,821.26 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 8.44 points, or 0.05%, to 16,464.18.

European stocks also traded lower.

North American markets fell Thursday, extending this week’s losses, as investors reacted to the release of U.S. Federal Reserve minutes, which seemed to indicate the central bank might still raise rates at its next session.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 154.08 points or 1.33%, to 11,465.50. Yesterday, the index finished almost 150 points higher.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index lost 14.48 points, or 0.57%, to 2,520.09.

In New York, weak earnings news, geopolitical worries and the release of the Fed minutes sent stocks lower.

The Dow Jones industrials average shed 83.32 points to close at 10,928.10. The Nasdaq composite kndex fell 41.29 points, or almost 2% to 2,039.42, while the S&P 500 Index dropped 10.68 points to 1,249.13.