North American stocks may pull back Friday amid concerns over tech bellwether Dell’s earnings outlook.

Dell was down 2.7% in pre-market trading on Inet after it said quarterly profit rose 52%, as the computer maker sold more laptops and non-PC gear to corporations and overseas customers, but also issued a first-quarter forecast beneath Wall Street forecasts.

In Friday’s economic news, U.S. wholesale prices increased modestly last month as expected, but underlying price pressures grew more markedly.

The producer price index for finished goods rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, versus a revised 0.6% increase in December, the Labor Department said. Excluding food and energy costs, the core producer price index increased 0.4%, doubling expectations and the steepest core rise since January 2005.

Oil prices rose in early trading. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose $1.09 to US$59.55 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.53¢, up 0.15 of a cent from Thursday’s close.

In today’s earnings news, Nexen Inc. reported a 22% rise in fourth-quarter earnings against a 12% decline in production, winding up its most profitable year ever thanks to high oil prices.

Overseas Japanese stocks fell after strong gross-domestic-product data sparked concerns that the country’s central bank may move soon to tighten its ultra-loose monetary policy. In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues ended down 2.1%.

European stocks were higher in afternoon trading. The UK FTSE 100 Index was up 0.2%, as was the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index.

Toronto stocks surged on Thursday, as energy and gold-mining issues bounce back from their recent slide.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 147.06 points, or 1.27%, at 11,704.31.

Overall, eight of the 10 main TSX groups advanced.

The oil and gas sector jumped 3.3% as crude oil prices climbed back above US$58 a barrel.

U.S. crude futures gained 81¢ to settle at US$58.46.

Suncor Energy Inc. shares jumped $3.27, or 4%, to $85.23.

The materials subindex followed with a 1.69% rise, as gold shares gained 2.95% on the back of stronger bullion prices.

Goldcorp added $1.12, or 4.1%, to $28.47.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 24.57 points, or 1.01%, to end at 2,461.69.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks rallied, with the Dow hitting a fresh 4 1/2-year high, as computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. and retailer J.C. Penney Co. Inc. both posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

The Dow Jones industiral avearage closed up 61.71 points, or 0.56%, at 11,120.68. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 18.20 points, or 0.80%, to 2,294.63. The S&P 500 added 9.38 points, or 0.73%, to 1,289.38.