North American markets may open lower Friday as crude-oil prices hit a new low for the year, and U.S. housing starts fell 14.6%.

Light sweet crude for December delivery, whose contract expires Friday, was down 75¢ to US$55.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the Nymex by midday in Europe.

Meanwhile, the exchange where oil is traded, Nymex Holdings, will make its stock market debut. Its public offering was priced at US$59 a share, above an already-raised range of US$54 to US$57 a share.

In economic news, U.S. housing starts fell in October by 14.6% to the lowest level of construction on new homes in six years. Building permits, an indicator of future building activity, fell for a ninth straight time.

The U.S. Commerce Department said October housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted 1.486 million annual rate, the lowest point in six years. Wall Street had expected a 5.6% decline in housing starts last month.

The Canadian dollar opened at 87.29 cents US, down 0.28 of a cent.

Air Canada’s parent company ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. announced long-awaited details of its plan to spin off Air Canada on Thursday, saying it will raise $525 million that will be used in part to fund the purchase of new aircraft. The shares in the airline will be priced at $21 per share in its initial public offering.

In earnings news, Hewlett-Packard’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings quadrupled and its revenue rose 7.2% as it expanded sales and profits across its core businesses.

Starbucks’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 5.2% on accounting changes, while an increase in transactions helped lift the chain’s total sales.

In international markets, oil producers BP and Shell dragged the FTSE 100 index 0.4% lower in London.

Asian markets were mixed.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 72.14 points, or 0.45%, to 16,091.73 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 28.64 points, or 0.15%, to 19,182.71.

Toronto stocks closed down Thursday, despite setting a new intra-day high in early trading, as investors fled resources indexes on falling commodity prices, while the broader market posted gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 59.52, or 0.48%, to 12,365.85.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, but the energy index fell 1.93% and the materials sector was off 1.81%.

In merger news, La Senza Corp. shares shot up $14.91, or 45.60%, to $47.61 after U.S.-based Limited Brands, owners of lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret, offered a cash bid for the Canadian firm valued at $710 million.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 7.69 points, or 0.29%, to 2,617.79.

In New York, the Dow Jones hit a fresh high on lower oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 54.11 points to close at 12,305.82, after posting an intra-day high of 12,325. The S&P 500 index gained 3.09 points to 1,399.76, and the Nasdaq composite closed up 6.31 points to 2,449.06.