North American markets are expected to open higher Friday, lifted by declining oil prices, and a surprise drop in U.S. wholesale prices.

Crude-oil prices slipped 17¢ to US$47.87 a barrel earlier this morning.

Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices registered the biggest decline in 20 months in December as oil prices dropped, the U.S. Labor Department said today.

The U.S. producer-price index for finished goods fell 0.7% last month, the biggest drop since April 2003, as energy prices fell 4%. The core index, which excludes food and energy items, rose 0.1%, half the rate in November. Economists had called for a 0.2% decrease in the overall index and a 0.2% gain in core prices.

U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said weak sales of passenger cars led to a 3.1% drop in new motor vehicle sales in November, partly erasing the strong 7.6% gain in October.

StatsCan said 131,978 new motor vehicles were sold in November, down some 4,250 units from October.

Toronto stocks finished mixed Thursday as gains in energy shares were offset by declines in technology and financial issues. The S&P/TSX composite index shed 13.57 points, or 0.15%, to close at 9,009.14.

Eight of the 10 main TSX groups finished lower. Volume was heavy at 268 million shares,

Financial issues followed CIBC lower on Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s sale of his 4.9% stake in the bank and his donation of the proceeds to his charitable foundations. CIBC shares dropped $1.26, or 1.77%, to $69.91.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 4.74 points, or 0.27%, to 1,784.38.

In New York, markets closed lower as higher crude oil prices reignited concern about the effect energy prices could have on corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 111.95 points, or 1.05%, to 10,505.83, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 21.97 points, or 1.05%, to 2,070.56. The S&P 500 slid 10.25 points, or 0.86%, to 1,177.45.

Wall Street also was unnerved by the latest first-time jobless claims report, which showed a jump of 10,000 claims to 367,000 last week, a three-month high.