North American stock markets may open weaker Thursday as China’s central bank lifted interest rates, and ahead of testimony from the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the U.S. Joint Economic Committee today.

Also today, Bank of Canada governor David Dodge is scheduled to speak about the bank’s monetary policy report.

In today’s economic news, Statistic Canada said manufacturers are expecting tougher times ahead, due in part to dissatisfaction with the current level of orders, the effects of the higher Canadian dollar and substantial increases in the price of crude oil and other raw material inputs.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.54¢, down 0.07 of a cent from a 14 1/2-year high.

The Chinese central bank lifted its key base rate to 5.85%, the first rise since October 2004, in an effort to cool an economy that may be close to overheating.

Crude-oil futures continued to edge lower, losing 65¢ to US$71.28 a barrel, but are still near record highs.

In today’s earnings news, Exxon Mobil posted first-quarter earnings of US$8.4 billion, up from a year ago but down off a record US$10 billion fourth quarter. Microsoft will release earnings after the close of trading

Late Wednesday, Atco Ltd. said its first-quarter earnings rose to $63 million from $42.6 million in the same period a year ago.

In overseas trading, most European exchanges were sharply lower. London’s FTSE-100 Index lost 1%, the Paris-based CAC-40 Index slid 1.3% and Frankfurt’s DAX Xetra 30 Index fell 1.1%.

Asian markets had more success. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced for a third session, adding 58.61 points, or 0.34%, to rise to 17,114.54 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 70.19 points, or 0.4%, to 16,742.85.

Toronto stocks dipped a bit Wednesday, as lower oil prices depressed the energy sector, offsetting gains among financials.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 8.06, or 0.07%, to 12,321.73.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.25 of a cent to US88.61¢, its highest close in almost 15 years.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index was off 0.66, or 0.02%, to 3,094.33.

In New York, markets closed higher on strong corporate and economic news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.24 points to 11,354.49, its best finish since January 2000.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3.33 points to 2,333.63, while the S&P 500 Index gained 3.67 points to 1,305.41.