North American markets may open lower Friday after General Motors reported an increased loss and insurance giant AIG reported a big drop in profit.

General Motors Corp. has increased its previously reported loss for 2005 by US$2 billion. GM said after the markets closed Thursday that it now estimates it lost about US$10.6 billion last year.

American International Group Inc. saw a steep drop in quarterly profits on more than US$2 billion in charges to cover a large settlement with state and federal regulators.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales increased again in January. Overall sales rose 1.8% to $41.3 billion.

The advance was broad-based, with increases in six of the seven sectors.

Separately, StatsCan said national net worth reached $4.5 trillion by the end of the fourth quarter, or $137,300 per person.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.26 of a cent at US86.48¢.

Oil prices slipped Friday after OPEC lowered its demand forecast for this year and amid signs that U.S. crude oil inventories are growing.

Overseas, London’s benchmark stock index broke through the 6,000-point level Friday for the first time in five years, spurred on by strong commodity prices and a burst of merger and acquisition activity. The FTSE 100 index rose above 6,000 in the first minutes of trading and by midday was trading up 46.75 points at 6,040.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 243.52 points, or 1.51%, to finish at 16,339.73 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 72.62 points, or 0.5%, to 15,801.66. The index rose 2.3 per cent on the week.

Toronto stocks climbed higher Thursday, setting a new record peak for the market, fuelled once again by rocketing crude oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 30.02 points, or 0.25%, to 12,085.65, after hitting a session high of 12,120.98.

The previous record was set Feb. 6 when the index closed at 12,080.53.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 14.19 points, or 0.54%, to 2,638.51.

In New York, markets were mixed as economic data suggesting inflation was in check was offset by the higher price of oil.

The Dow Jones Industrial average closed up 43.47 points at 11,253.24, off an intraday high of 11,282.45. The S&P 500 rose 2.31 points to 1,305.33, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.28 points to 2,299.56.