North American stocks are expected to open lower Tuesday after Oracle reported slower software sales and Asian markets slid following a plunge in Thai shares.

Technology stocks were in focus after Oracle late Monday matched Wall Street earnings estimates, but reported new software-license sales below expectations, sending shared down 3% in after-hours trading.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported the annual inflation rate rose to 1.4% in November, from 0.9% in October, pushed by higher costs for mortgages and home repairs.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.37¢, down 0.03 of a cent.

South of the border, U.S. wholesale prices soared in November at their fastest pace in more than three decades on gas and light-truck costs, suggesting inflation pressures persist.

Meanwhile, U.S. housing starts rose but rebounded only partially from October.

In M&A news, Euronext shareholders overwhelmingly approved the US$14 billion acquisition of the pan-European stock-market operator by the owner of the New York stock exchange, NYSE Group.

Delta Air Lines filed an expansive restructuring plan that values the company at between US$9.4 billion and US$12 billion when it expects to exit from bankruptcy in 2007, effectively lodging its official opposition to an US$8.4 billion hostile-takeover bid from US Airways Group.

In other financial news, Morgan Stanley said it plans to spin off its Discover credit card unit in a move to enhance shareholder value.

Crude-oil prices fell 42¢ to US$61.79 a barrel.

European markets wavered on weaker tech companies and resource shares.

The Thai government is lifting controls on foreign investment in stocks after the market plunged nearly 15% Tuesday, rattling regional bourses amid worries about a repeat of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Thai shares plummeted after the country’s central bank announced rules to discourage foreign inflows. Panic selling on the Stock Exchange of Thailand pushed the SET index down 14.8% to finish at 622.14. Asian stocks ended broadly lower Tuesday.

Hong Kong’s blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 228.36 points, or 1.2%, to 18,964.55.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index lost 185.23 points, or 1.09%, to 16,776.88 points.

Toronto stocks fell Monday as weakness in the oil and gold sectors offset gains in telecom shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 81.07 points, or 0.6%, at 12,785.20 even though seven of the 10 TSX main groups advanced on the day.

The gold sector dropped 1.4% and the heavily weighted energy sector was down 2.4%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 8.28 points to 2,821.05.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 4.25 points to 12,441.27. The Nasdaq fell 21.63 to 2,435.57 while the S&P 500 index was down 4.61 to 1,422.48.

The U.S. Commerce Department, meanwhile, reported that the current-account deficit increased 3.9% to a record US$225.6 billion in the July-September quarter.