North American markets are expected to rise at the open Tuesday, lifted by a solid earnings report from Texas Instruments.

After the bell Monday, Texas Instruments said first-quarter net income jumped 12% to US $411 million on flat revenue as a lower tax rate and lower salary costs lifted the bottom line.

In other earnings news, Husky Energy saw profits jump 51% in the first quarter to $384 million, from $255 million during the same quarter of 2004.

In today’s economic news, U.S. wholesale prices rose in March at the fastest pace in four months, boosted by surging energy prices, indicating inflation in the production pipeline is heating up.

The producer-price index for finished goods rose 0.7% in March, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The core index, which excludes food and energy items, rose 0.1%, the same as in February.

Economists had called for a 0.6% increase in the overall index and a 0.2% gain in core prices

Here at home, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales increased for the fourth time in the past five months, gaining 1.1% in February.

Meanwhile, the government agency’s composite index of leading indicators grew 0.2% in March, boosted by the export sector.

Among the stocks to watch today, Research In Motion Ltd. said it is teaming up with heavyweights Microsoft and IBM to bolster its BlackBerry e-mail device services. RIM today announced a product collaboration and marketing agreement to extend instant messaging and presence to BlackBerry subscribers through Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005.

On Monday, Toronto stocks closed higher as oil prices steadied, ending a four-day losing streak. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 53.87 points, or 0.58%, to 9,330.99.

The energy sector rose 0.82%, while a 1.3% advance by the materials group added support.

Oil prices settled just above US$50 a barrel after a two-week sell-off triggered by swelling stockpiles in the United States.

In New York, U.S. blue-chip stocks fell for a fourth consecutive session, weighed down by a 6% tumble in bellwether 3M Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 16.26 points, or 0.16%, at 10,071.25, edging to a fresh 5 1/2 month low.

The Nasdaq composite index finished up 4.77 points, or 0.25%, at 1,912.92.

The broader S&P 500 Index was up 3.36 points, or 0.29%, at 1,145.98.