Signals were mixed for North American stock markets early Monday as crude-oil prices retreated from record highs, and ahead of a widely expected hike in Canadian interest rates.

To curb inflation, the Bank of Canada is forecast to raise interest rates by one-quarter of a percentage point on Tuesday when it makes its scheduled policy announcement.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.07¢ up 0.17 of a cent.

Oil prices retreated Monday after recent sharp gains. Light sweet crude for June delivery fell 48¢ to US$74.69 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In today’s earnings news, Caterpillar reported that first-quarter net income rose 45% to US$840 million, or $1.20 a share as revenue improved 13% to US$9.39 billion, soundly beating analysts’ forecast of $1.05 a share on sales of US$8.7 billion. Xerox said earnings were flat as revenue slipped, missing expectations. American Express and Sun Microsystems are scheduled to report after the bell.

In company news, Focus Energy Trust has struck a $1.2 billion deal to merge with Profico Energy Management, a privately held natural gas company. Profico shareholders will end up with about 51% of Focus’s trust units, on a fully diluted basis.

Alcan Inc. has suspended deliveries to customers from its alumina refinery in Australia after a looming cyclone caused the plant to interrupt production.

Overseas, European indexes were mostly higher.

Japan’s benchmark stock index plunged 2.8% in reaction to the surge in oil prices and the yen. The Nikkei index of 225 selected issues fell 489.56 points to close at 16,914.40 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 206.48 points, or 1.22%, to 16,705.67.

Toronto stocks rebounded Friday, ending a see-saw week that saw a high degree of volatility on the market, moved largely by resource stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 123.56, up 1%, to 12,437.22. For the week, the market was up 188.65 points.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 69.85 points, or 2.29%, to 3,123.41.

In New York, the effect of a week of good corporate and economic news was muted by the rising price of oil.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.56 points to 11,347.45. The Nasdaq composite Index fell 19.69 points to 2,342.86. The S&P 500 put in a fractional loss, down 0.18 point at 1,311.28.

For the week, the Dow gained 1.9%, the Nasdaq lifted 0.7%, and the S&P rose 1.7%.