North American stock markets are poised to open higher Monday, with news of a takeover bid for Canadian graphics specialist ATI Technologies.

AMD said it is offering US$5.8 billion in cash and stock in a friendly offer for ATI.

Money-management giant Amvescap plans to buy WL Ross in a deal that will bring Wilbur Ross into the company and give the billionaire financier a broader reach and greater access to investment capital. The initial price of the transaction is US$100 million.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales fell in May after two months of strong gains, pulled down by lower sales in the automotive and food and beverage stores sectors.

The government agency said total retail sales declined by 0.6% from April to $32.6 billion. Retail sales have generally been rising at a rapid clip following a slowdown in 2003, and May’s decline was only the second in eight months.

The Canadian dollar opened at US87.69¢, down 0.15 of a cent.

In earnings news, Merck’s net income more than doubled in the second quarter on strong drug performance from year-earlier results that were hurt by a large tax charge.

Crude-oil prices edged 75¢ lower to US$73.68 a barrel early Monday after the Saudi oil minister said OPEC wanted to avoid an economically disruptive increase in oil prices and as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to the Mideast to try to find a diplomatic solution to the violence in Lebanon and Israel.

Overseas, Japanese stocks dipped. The Nikkei 225 index fell 26.76 points, or 0.18%, to finish at 14,794.50 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 16.41 points, or 0.1%, to 16,480.59.

Toronto stocks closed lower on Friday on concerns that lower than expected inflation numbers for June could signal an economic slowdown, and an earnings warning from Dell Inc.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 47.17 points, or 0.4%, to close at 11,418.33.

For the week, the benchmark index gave back 211.68 points.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index shed 22.80 points to close at 2,497.29.

U.S. stocks also fell on Friday, with the Nasdaq finishing a third week of losses, as a profit warning from personal computer maker Dell Inc. offset enthusiasm for Microsoft’s raised outlook and US$40 billion stock buy-back plan.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 59.72 points, or 0.55%, to end at 10,868.38. The S&P slid 8.84 points, or 0.71%, to finish at 1,240.29. The Nasdaq composite index sank 19.03 points, or 0.93%, to close at 2,020.39.

For the week, the Nasdaq lost 0.8%, while the Dow gained 1.2% and the S&P 500 advanced 0.3%.