The Canadian Press

North American stock markets headed for a lower open Friday despite another batch of U.S. earnings reports that indicated the economy is recovering from a severe recession.

The Dow Jones industrial futures dipped 17 points to 11,079, the Nasdaq futures were down 5.25 points to 2,029.5 and the S&P 500 futures were off three points to 1,205.5 amid better than expected results from Bank of America Corp. and General Electric Inc.

GE said losses are beginning to moderate in its battered lending division, GE Capital.

Bank of America said strong trading revenue helped offset ongoing consumer loan losses. However, it did note those loan losses – which have cost banks hundreds of billions of dollars – are starting to ease.

There was disappointment surrounding earnings from two tech heavyweights.

Google Inc. reported strong earnings after the market closed Thursday, but a jump in spending has investors worried about future growth.

Advanced Micro Devices handed in results that exceeded forecasts but the rival to chip giant Intel said sales will be flat to down 5% in the second quarter.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.17 of a cent to 99.84 cents US.

The Toronto market will likely be under selling pressure from the energy and materials groups amid falling prices.

The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 89 cents to US$84.62 a barrel.

The June bullion contract on the Nymex fell back $3.20 to US$1,157.10 and May copper was unchanged at US$3.60 a pound.

Asian stock markets fell Friday as investors mulled whether the region’s strong economic growth so far this year could trigger inflation and higher interest rates.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average led decliners, dropping 1.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.5%, while China decreased 1.1%.

London’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.09%, Frankfurt’s DAX edged up 0.02% while the Paris CAC was ahead 0.06%.

In other corporate news, Goldman Sachs has downgraded the shares of fertilizer producers Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT) and The Mosaic Co. (NYSE:MOS) on weaker-than-expected potash prices. It says that although prices for the mineral used in fertilizer have bottomed out, price gains aren’t happening as quickly as expected.

Com Dev International Ltd. (TSX:CDV) said Thursday it has acquired Routes AstroEngineering, a privately owned company specialized in the design and manufacture of advanced instruments for space science research.

Bellamont Exploration Ltd. (TSXV:BMX.A) says its 2010 production will be nearly 10% higher than estimated in the company’s January guidance, before the oil and gas firm acquired Standard Energy Inc. Bellamont also announced Friday that it had a $4.6-million net loss, or eight cents per share, in 2009. That compares with a $1.6 million annual loss or three cents per share in 2008. Revenue slipped to $10.2 million from $10.7 million.

Engineering firm Genivar Income Fund (TSX:GNV.UN) said it will convert into a publicly traded corporation by Jan. 1. The conversion coincides with a change in federal tax rates for most types of Canadian income trusts.