North American markets may open flat Tuesday, as investors mull over disappointing U.S. wholesale inflation numbers and solid earnings reports by Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

U.S. wholesale prices increased 1.7%, the fastest pace since 1990, in October as food and energy costs soared. Inflation outside those sectors remained mild, the U.S. Labor Department said today.

The core producer price index, which excludes energy and food items, rose a moderate 0.3%, the same rate as in September.

Economists had called for a 0.6% increase in the overall index and a 0.1% gain in core prices.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today, but Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale will appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance this afternoon to present the federal government’s annual economic and fiscal update. Goodale is expected to announce that Ottawa is on pace to record a surplus as large as $8 billion for the current fiscal year which ends next March.

In earnings news, Wal-Mart’s net rose 13% in its fiscal third quarter and the discount retailer raised its forecasts for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year.

Home Depot’s profit increased 15% in its latest quarter and the world’s largest home-improvement retailer raised its full-year guidance.

Meanwhile Sun Life Financial Inc. is forecasting 10% annual growth in earnings and plans to accelerate its share buyback program. “:Looking forward, we can increase our earnings organically by an average of 10 per cent per year,” chief financial officer Paul Derksen said in a release Tuesday as the company held its Investor Day.

On Monday, Toronto closed mixed Monday boosted by gains in technology shares and the heavily weighted financial group. The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 40.85 points, or 0.46%, at 8,937.22 on volume of 277 million shares.

That was the highest close for the benchmark index since February 2001. Eight of the 10 TSX groups finished higher.

Technology shares were up 1.6% as Nortel shares recovered from last week’s drubbing.


In other news, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Monday filed eight counts of civil fraud charges against Conrad Black, the former chairman of Hollinger International Inc. Shares of Hollinger fell 25¢, or 4.2%, to $5.75.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index slipped 4.35 points, or 0.26%, to 1,654.60.

In New York, blue-chip stocks and technology issues ended slightly higher as declining oil prices fell.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.23 points, or 0.11%, to close at 10,550.24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite Index added 8.75 points, or 0.42%, to end at 2,094.09.

However, the broader S&P 500 dipped 0.36 of a point, or 0.03%, to finish at 1,183.81.