North American stocks may open flat Friday after bellwether General Electric reported results in line with expectations.

GE’s first-quarter net income rose 1.5%, helped by strength in the company’s infrastructure and commercial-finance businesses. Revenue rose 5.7% to US$40.2 billion. GE also reaffirmed its earnings guidance for 2007.

In today’s economic news, higher food and energy prices pushed U.S. wholesale prices up sharply last month, though outside of those volatile sectors prices remained well contained, thanks largely to steep drops in the prices of computers and light trucks.

The producer-price index for finished goods rose 1% in March, the Labor Department said Friday, versus 1.3% in February. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was unchanged.

A separate report showed the U.S. foreign trade deficit unexpectedly declined in February, as a lower bill for imported crude oil helped offset a decline in capital-goods exports.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services fell 0.7% to US$58.44 billion in February from January’s revised US$58.88 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. The January trade gap was originally reported as US$59.12 billion.

A reading on consumer sentiment is also due after the market opens.

Here at home, Statistics Canada reported that
Canadian exports slowed in February, down 2.1% from a record high in January, partly as a result of a 15-day railway strike, which interrupted regular transportation patterns, making it difficult for exporters to ship their products to the border or port.

As a result of the hit to exports and stable imports, Canada’s trade surplus with the world contracted in February to $4.8 billion from a revised $5.8 billion in January.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.2¢, up 0.06 of a cent.

In business news, Apple said it would delay the release of Leopard, the next upgrade of its Mac operating system, until October.

Late Thursday, Merck raised its profit forecasts for the first quarter and 2007. The now expects first-quarter earnings of 84¢ a share, excluding charges.

Crude-oil prices rose 33¢ to US$66.67 a barrel, adding to Thursday’s sharp gains on the back of an International Energy Agency report that world oil output fell in March.

Asian markets ended lower amid investor caution ahead of the release of the U.S. producer price data, while Samsung’s profit slide dragged down shares in Seoul by 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1%.

European indexes were mostly higher, with the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 index adding 0.3%.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished higher on Thursday, boosted by a rally in oil prices and Astral Media $1.08 billion takeover of Standard Radio.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark index ended a two-day losing streak and closed up 98.66 points, or 0.7%, at 13,499.65, a record closing high.

All but one of the 10 TSX main groups were higher. The information technology sector lost 1.6% on a big drop in Research In Motion Ltd. shares after the release of the company’s earnings.

RIM shares tumbled $14.31, or 8.6%, to $152.15.

The BlackBerry maker reported a sharply higher quarterly profit after the market close on Wednesday, but also said an informal inquiry by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into past stock-option grants has been upgraded to a formal investigation.

Astral Media said on Thursday it has agreed to buy privately held radio broadcaster Standard Radio, a deal that would create the largest radio broadcaster in Canada. Class A shares of Astral closed up $1.17, or 2.8%, at $42.75.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 12.36 points to 3,264.81.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose as MedImmune put itself up for sale, lifting the biotech sector, and strong retail sales data relieved fears about consumer spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 68.34 points, or 0.55%, to end at 12,552.96. The S&P 500 rose 8.93 points, or 0.62%, to 1,447.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 21.01 points, or 0.85%, to 2,480.32.