Global indicators were mixed for North American markets early Friday.

Wall Street futures suggested a positive start for regular trading while crude-oil prices moved up toward US$70 a barrel.

Light sweet crude for June delivery rose 43¢ to US$69.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

The technology sector may also provide support for gains, with Dell Inc. moving higher after reporting fiscal first-quarter results, but Intel’s drop to a multi-year low limit the upside.

Dell, alongside a largely expected 18% profit fall, also said it would restructure its operations in a US$3 billion move, which boost its shares by 4%.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales rose in March after edging down in February, capping the strongest quarterly gain in four years.

The government agency said retail sales increased by 1.5% in March from the previous month to reach a record high of $32.1 billion.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.98¢, down 0.27 of a cent.

European indexes were mixed in early action.

In Asia, Japanese shares got a boost from the country’s stronger-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter. The Nikkei 225 index added 68.27 points, or 0.42%, to finish at 16,155.45 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index advanced 46.84 points, or 0.3%, to 16,313.36.

Canadian markets will be closed Monday for the Victoria Day holiday.

In earning’s news, Rothmans Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit slipped to $16.4 million from a year-earlier $17.3 million as cigarette smugglers eroded sales and premium product sales sagged.

In today’s corporate news, Mittal Steel Co. raised its offer for rival Arcelor SA, valuing the company at 25.8 billion euros (US$33 billion), and pledged to make “significant changes” to its corporate governance.

North American markets fell again Thursday, as investors continued to pull back from this year’s record highs and on concerns that inflation, and interest rates, were headed up.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 100.66 points, or 0.86%, to 11,539.95. The senior exchange dropped 188.81 yesterday and 788.26 points since May 9.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 91.77 points , or 3.20%, to 2,777.58.

The junior exchange has lost a whopping 473.45 since May 9, a drop of 14.56%.

In New York, markets continued to fall in the aftermath of yesterday’s report indicating a stronger-than-expected rise in retail inflation in April, stoking fears of continued interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 77.32 points to 11,128. The benchmark index has fallen almost 300 points in two days.

The Nasdaq compositeiIndex ended down 15.48 points at 2,180.32, its lowest close in six months.

The S&P 500 dropped 8.51 points to 1,261.81.