North American stocks look headed to open higher Friday after U.S. government data showed a slowing in income and spending.

U.S. A key measure of core inflation favored by the Federal Reserve, the core PCE deflator, rose more than expected.

The PCE deflator, a closely watched inflation reading preferred by the Federal Reserve, rose by 0.3%, bringing its year-over-year rate of increase to 2.1%, above the Fed’s comfort zone of 1% to 2%. The government said April personal income rose by 0.5% while consumption rose by 0.6%.

Trading is expected to be a light as the three-day U.S. Memorial Day weekend approaches.

The Canadian dollar opened at 90.24¢, down 0.12 of a cent.

In earnings news, Royal Bank said its second-quarter profit jumped 23% to $1.12 billion despite the impact of a higher Canadian dollar on U.S. revenue. Earnings for the quarter ended April 30 amounted to 85¢ a diluted share and compared with $907 million or 69¢ per share a year earlier, the Toronto-based company reported Friday.

In M&A news, Hummingbird Ltd. said it has struck a deal in which Symphony Technology Group will pay about US$465 milliobn for the business software firm.


Markets in Asia strengthened overnight.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 277.01 points, or 1.77%, to finish at 15,970.76 points. Before Friday’s gain, the index had tumbled 9.2% since May 8.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 198.21 points, or 1.3%, to 15,895.1. The benchmark index fell about 2.7% this week. Before Friday’s recovery, it had lost 8.8% since May 8.

In Europe, markets were also higher. In Paris the CAC-40 gained 1.1%, while London’s FTSE-100 rose 0.9% and Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax gained 0.4%.

Toronto stocks rallied Thursday, rebounding from a fortnight of nearly uninterrupted losses, on the strength of resource plays and financials.

The S&P/TSX composite index shot up 229.09 points, or 2.01%, to 11,653.00. The market had lost roughly 900 points over the last two weeks.

The financials index advanced 0.95%.

TD Bank announced its quarterly profit rose to $738 million from $599 million a year earlier. Shares fell 83¢, or 1.34%, to $61.00.

National Bank announced that quarterly profit rose to $214 million from a year-earlier $202 million. National Banks shares rose $1.84,or 3.11%, to $60.99.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index jumped up 71.81 points, or 2.63%, to 2,806.28.

In New York, markets were up as economic news suggesting a slowdown in certain sectors led investors to hope the U.S. Federal Reserve would put a halt to its current cycle of interest rate hikes.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 93.73 points, or 0.8%, at 11,211.05. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 29.07 points, or 1.3%, to 2,198.24, while the S&P 500 added 14.31 points, or 1.1%, to end at 1,272.88.