North American markets are likely to open mixed on Monday as oil prices rise and third-quarter earnings season gets into full swing.

Crude-oil futures jumped $1.37 to US$64 a barrel early Monday, driven up by concerns that tropical storm Wilma brewing in the Caribbean may grow into a hurricane and could threaten oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Third-quarter earnings season gets rolling today with reports from Dow industrial components General Motors and International Business Machines.

Before markets opened, Citigroup Inc. said its net income rose 35% in the third-quarter, boosted by a major gain on the sale of its life-insurance business, and growth in its corporate and investment-banking revenue. The largest bank in the United States in terms of market capitalization said revenue jumped 15% to US$21.50 billion.

In other business news, former U.S. admiral Bill Owens is stepping down as president and CEO of Nortel Networks.

Owens will be replaced by former Motorola executive Mike Zafirovski on Nov. 15, Nortel said today. No reason was given for Owens’s departure.

There are no major economic announcements from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US84.5¢, up 0.14 of a cent.

Overseas, the oil and gas sector climbed in European trade, while London’s FTSE 100 was flat recently.

Overnight in Asia, stocks in Japan fell for a fourth trading session amid concerns about earnings. The Nikkei 225 index lost 20.25 points, or 0.15%, to 13,400.29 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, shares rose moderately as Friday’s gains on Wall Street prompted a rebound. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 55.47 points, or 0.4%, to 14,541.35.

Toronto stocks closed higher Friday, as investors bought back into the market, particularly energy stocks, after a deep drop in share prices in October.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 59.06, or 0.57%, to 10,488.77.

For the week, the benchmark index dropped 1%.

The senior exchange has lost 4.75% since the start of the month, down from 11,011.83.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 1.95, or 0.09%, to 2,057.90.

In New York, encouraging economic news and a good corporate report from General Electric spurred the market forward.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 70.75, or 0.69%, to 10,287.34, the S&P500 index added 9.73, or 0.83%, to 1,186.57, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 17.61, or 0.86%, to 2,064.83.

For the week, the Dow ended down 0.04%, the Nasdaq slid 1.22% and the S&P 500 fell 0.8%. So far this month, the S&P 500 has closed higher in only two sessions.