North American stocks may open lower Tuesday after U.S. wholesale prices surged in January and core inflation also climbed above expectations.

The producer price index for finished goods rose 1.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis after a 0.3% decrease in December, the U.S. Labor Department said today.

The core index, which excludes food and energy items, rose 0.4% last month, seasonally adjusted. It rose 0.2% in December.

Wall Street expected smaller price increases. Economists had called for a 0.4% jump in the overall index and a 0.2% increase in the core index.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar opened at US100.56¢ this morning, up less than a tenth of cent after jumping 1.67¢ Monday amid strong commodity prices.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is set to table his third federal budget today at 16:00 ET.

In today’s earnings news, Quebecor Media Inc. swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $112.4 million from a year-earlier loss of $97.1 million, when there was big writedown of broadcasting assets.

Home Depot reported that its net income fell 27% in the most recent quarter as same-store sales slumped, and the company forecast fiscal-year results far below analysts’ expectations.

Other U.S. retailers such as Target, Office Depot and Macy’s are set to unveil quarterly numbers, as is broadcaster CBS.

In banking news, Merrill Lynch restated its cash flows for fiscal 2005 and 2006 and noted the restatements were the result of errors that offset each other.

Oil futures fell 37¢ to US$98.86 a barrel while gold futures slipped US$3.50 to US$937 an ounce.

Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.65%, but there were gains on European markets. London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.09%, Paris’s CAC 40 gained 0.93% and Frankfurt’s DAX advanced 1.42%.

On Monday, mining and energy stocks pushed Toronto markets higher Monday.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 111.52 points, or 0.82%, at 13,697.45.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 29.09 points, or 1.10%, to end the day at 2,686.24.

In New York, markets rallied late afternoon on news that S&P affirmed its AAA ratings on bond insurers MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 200 points in afternoon trading. It closed up 189.20 points, or 1.53%, at 12,570.22.

The S&P 500 gained 18.69 points, or 1.38%, to end the session at 1,371.80.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 24.13 points, or 1.05%, to finish at 2,327.48.