Stocks look set to open down this morning after software giant Oracle Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit may miss analysts’ forecasts.

The announcement is sparking a selloff in that stock, and dampening the mood for stocks generally.

The only economic news out so far is the U.S. Producer Price Index which was up 0.2% in February. The core rate was unchanged. Inflation remains of little concern to traders though.

In Europe, stocks are mixed and hardly moving in either direction. The FTSE is down just two points to 5,259. The CAC 40 is off by 14 points to 4,532. The DAX is up 10 ticks to 5,287.

Stocks were mixed overnight in Asia, too. The Nikkei added 79 points to end the week at 11,648. The Hang Seng shed 93 points to close at 11,210.

In business news, Doman Industries Limited reports that it did not make its scheduled semi-annual interest payment on its outstanding US$388 million senior unsecured notes. It has 30 days to make it up before it is in default. Doman blamed the failure to pay on current industry circumstances, including the softwood lumber tariff trade dispute and depressed pulp prices.

Also, Oncolytics Biotech Inc. reports that its total loss for the year 2001 was $6,171,46, compared to a loss of $3,613,152 for the previous year.