Stocks are likely to trade higher Friday morning, as investors mull over Dell’s upbeat earnings report and today’s batch of economic news.

Dell reported Thursday after the market’s close that its second-quarter net income rose 29%, meeting analyst estimates, .on strong overseas product shipments growth and strong server sales.

There’s some good news on Canada’s trade front.. Statistics Canada said today that Canada’s merchandise trade surplus hit a new high in June, surpassing $8.6 billion. Exports increased 4.4%, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, total imports cooled 3.7% from their record high in May.

In a separate release, StatsCan said manufacturers cruised through June, posting record-high shipments of $49.9 billion, up 1.5% from May. A build-up of inventories, coupled with rising new orders rounded out the upbeat month.

South of the border U.S. Wholesale prices rose less than expected in July as high energy costs were offset by a sharp drop in food prices.

The producer-price index for finished goods climbed 0.1% last month, after a 0.3% slide in June, the Labor Department reported Friday. Aside from food and energy prices, which tend to be volatile, gains in producer prices actually moderated:

The core index, which excludes those categories, showed a growth rate of a 0.1%, down from a 0.2% in June.

Economists had expected a 0.2% overall increase in the PPI and a 0.1% rise in core prices.

A separate report showed the U.S. trade gap widened more than expected in June to a record US$55.82 billion, according to the Commerce Department, as exports slipped and higher oil prices failed to reduce energy imports. The deficit was $US46.88 billion in May, up from an initial estimate of $45.95 billion. Economists had expected a widening in the deficit to $47.0 billion.

The University of Michigan will release its consumer-sentiment index around 9:45 a.m. EDT. Economists look for an improvement in the index to 98.0 in early August.

On Thursday, North American markets fell for a second day as weak earnings in the tech sector spooked investors.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index closed down 35.90 points, or 0.44%, at 8,132.34.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index was the only North American index to finish in the black. It rose 0.81, or 0.06%, to 1,471.78.

On Wall Street., the Dow Jones industrial average closed at its lowest level of the year — down 123.73 points, or 1.2%, at 9,814.59.

The Nasdaq composite index plunged to its lowest close since Aug.18, 2003, down 29.93 points, or 1.7 %, at 1,752.49 and the S&P 500 fell 12.56 points, or 1.2%, to 1,063.23.