North American markets may climb Friday morning, ahead of a long weekend for most Canadians, after a report showed U.S. economic growth slowed a bit, as expected, during the second quarter.

The Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange will be closed Monday for a civic holiday.

Early Friday, the Commerce Department said second-quarter gross domestic product rose at a 3.4% annual rate, in its first estimate for the April through June period. The increase was in line with expectations on Wall Street.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said Canadian economic activity maintained its April pace with a 0.3% increase in May. Growth was fuelled by the energy sector and by investment-related production.

Separately, the government agency said Canadian manufacturers expect to lower production slightly in the third quarter of 2005. Fewer new orders, record rates for capacity utilization and inclement weather were some of the factors facing manufacturers in recent months

Later this morning, the University of Michigan releases its consumer sentiment index. Economists call for a reading of 96.5, up from the final June reading of 96.0, but unchanged from the preliminary July reading.

The Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago is due to release its regional manufacturing index for July at 10:ET. Economists forecast a reading of 55.0, up from 53.6 for June.

In business news, Wendy’s International plans to sell 15% to 18% of its Tim Hortons coffee chain and sell some Wendy’s restaurants and real estate as part of a broad restructuring plan aimed at slowing growth in favor of improving returns.

In earning’s news, Barrick Gold Corp. said its second-quarter profit rose to US$53 million, up 56% from last year, thanks to a jump in gold prices and a change in accounting policy. Earnings for Canada’s largest gold miner, were US10¢ per share, compared with US6¢ in the second quarter of 2004 when the company earned US$34 million.

Toronto stocks closed slightly higher Thursday, as investors absorbed mixed earnings news and higher oil prices The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 15.56, or 0.15%, to 10,516.23.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 9.32, or 0.53%, to 1,783.75.

In New York, the higher price of crude oil couldn’t dampen the positive effect of strong corporate earnings news. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit four-year highs.

Crude futures rose 84¢ to settle at US$59.95 a barrel after the U.S. Department of Energy painted a mixed picture of petroleum supplies, but suggested demand will remain strong.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.46, or 0.64%, to 10,705.55.

The tech heavy Nasdaq lifted 12.22, or 0.56%, to 2,198.44, and the broad based S&P 500 index gained 6.93, or 0.56%, to 1,243.72.