North American stocks are facing mixed indicators Friday following yesterday’s big selloff amid news that U.S. core inflation eased in the second quarter.

The U.S. economy resurged in the second quarter as the drag from the housing sector lessened, businesses built inventories, and exports grew.

Gross domestic product rose at a 3.4% annual rate April through June, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today.

The increase in second quarter GDP was slight better than the 3.3% increase Wall Street economists had forecast.

Inflation gauges were mixed. The U.S. government’s price index for personal consumption surged 4.3% April through June, after rising 3.5% in the first quarter. But the PCE price gauge excluding food and energy rose just 1.4% April through June, after climbing 2.4% in the first quarter.

Also on tap will be the final July measure of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.

The Canadian dollar continued to sink from a recent 30-year high, after losing more than a full U.S. cent in relative value Thursday. The Canadian dollar opened at US94.27¢, down 0.64 of a cent.

In M&A news, Cadbury Schweppes halted the sale of its U.S. beverage arm that makes Snapple and Dr Pepper that could be worth US$15 billion.

Medical-devices maker Medtronic agreed to buy smaller rival Kyphon for US$3.9 billion, or US$71 a share, a 32% premium to Kyphon’s close on Thursday.

Crude-oil futures rose 22¢ to US$75.17 a barrel in electronic trading. Gold futures fell US$3 to US$659.80 an ounce.

Overseas markets fell overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225-stock average slid 2.36%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite fell 4.1% and Taiwan’s benchmark index dropped 4.2%. London’s FTSE 100, which dropped 3.15% yesterday, fell another 0.5% on Friday.

Toronto stocks fell sharply Thursday as some strong corporate earnings reports were pushed aside by worries over U.S. lending markets.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 260.72 points, or 1.85%, at 13,844.60.

Nine of the 10 TSX 10 main sectors were lower, led by a 1.8% drop in the financials group, a 1.9% drop in materials, and a 2.2% drop among energy stocks.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 73.10 points, or 2.27%, to 3,152.40.

The Canadian dollar, which hit a 30-year high earlier this week, gave up more than 1¢ today, closing at US94.91¢.

In New York, signs of further weakness in the U.S. housing market sent stocks tumbling, with the Dow industrials losing more than 300 points.

Two of the largest home builders in the United States, D.R. Horton and Beazer Homes, posted quarterly losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 311.50 points, or 2.26%, to close at 13,473.57.

The S&P 500 fell 35.43 points, or 2.33%, at 1,482.66. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 48.83 points, or 1.84%, at 2,599.34.