North American stocks are expected to open flat Monday as a drop in crude-oil prices was offset by a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing activity in New York State.

Oil prices fell 50¢ to US$48.17 a barrel in early trading Monday.

However, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said growth at New York state factories turned negative in May as the Fed’s “Empire State” index slipped to a two-year low for the second consecutive month.

The May index defied forecasts for an increase and instead slipped to -11.11 — below the zero threshold that marks growth from contraction in the survey. Economists had called for a rebound to a reading of 12.5 from 3.1 in April.

In this morning’s business news, Royal Group Technologies Ltd. said Cerberus Capital Management LP is planning a $1.08 billion takeover bid for the maker of plastic products.

In earning’s news, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. today reported a first-quarter profit of $23.2 million, compared with a loss of $2 million a year earlier, as revenue rose 25%.

On Friday, falling commodity stocks proved Friday the 13th true for Canadian markets, while technology shares proved to be the only positive on Wall Street.

At close, the S&P/TSX composite index was off 53.26 points or 0.57% to 9,278.45. The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 4.65 or 0.28% to 1,633.14.

On the week, the S&P/TSX composite lost 2.5%.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 49.36 points or 0.48% to 10,140.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite benefited from solid results from Dell Inc., rising 12.92 points or 0.66% at 1,976.80, and the S&P 500 index slid 5.31 points or 0.46% to 1,154.05.

Dell climbed $2.72 to US$39.33 after first-quarter earnings rose 28% to $934 million on strong international sales. The world’s largest direct-sale computer vendor also forecast strong revenue growth in the second quarter.

For the week, the Dow ended down 2% and the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, with both snapping three-week winning streaks. But the Nasdaq finished the week up 0.5%.