Friday the 13th is expected to begin on a moderately positive note despite a report that the U.S. trade deficit has increased to a record level. Wall Street futures are up slightly on a solid quarterly pre-opening report from Dell Computer. The tech giant also announced an optimistic tech-spending outlook.

In Canada, stocks may get a boost from Barrick Gold Corp. which is reporting that higher prices for gold and gains from derivatives helped push fourth-quarter earnings up. Barrick says it made US$77 million (14¢ per share) in the quarter, up US$54 million (10¢). The company says its realized gold price in the quarter was up by $51 per ounce from the previous year’s quarter. The company also booked a $60 million increase in non-hedge derivative gains.

Statistics Canada said today that merchandise exporters finished 2003 on a positive note. They made a 3.6% gain in their shipments abroad in December, despite record highs for the Canadian dollar. Total imports edged up 0.7%, their second consecutive monthly rise. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade surplus soared by nearly $1 billion to $5.4 billion, the largest increase since January 2003, says StatsCan.

The news for manufacturers is good, too, with StatsCan reporting a modest increase in shipments in December as a positive cap for an otherwise bumpy ride in 2003. Shipments rose 1.0% to $42.7 billion, the first increase in three months. Meanwhile, manufacturers’ prospects seem encouraging as they continue to sign new orders. Orders climbed 1.6% in December, the third boost in four months.

In the U.S., the federal Commerce Department said the deficit for international trade of goods and services rose to $42.48 billion, up from $38.35 billion in November. The December gap was the largest since March’s $42.95 billion, and topped the $40 billion forecast by economists.

U.S. imports also rose in December, says the U.S. Labour Department, up 3% to $132.85 billion. And import prices grew at their fastest pace in nearly a year last month as the U.S. dollar continued to lose value. Import prices rose 1.3% in January, marking the biggest increase since February 2003, says Labor. Economists had expected prices to rise between 0.2% and 0.5%.

The next piece of data for the day is the University of Michigan’s report on consumer sentiment, due out at 09:45 ET. It’s expected inch up to 104.0.

In London at midday, the FTSE 100 index is up almost 1%, rising 43 points to 4,420.7. Frankfurt’s DAX is off 0.2%. Paris’s CAC-40 is flat.

Asian exchanges closed higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 98.43 points or 0.9% to 10,557.69 on gains in the real estate and banking sectors. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 114.67 points to 13,739.80.

On Thursday, North American stock markets fell on reports of decreased retail sales and increased jobless claims in the U.S. Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index declined 42.69 points to 8,725.04. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 43.63 at 10,694.07. The Nasdaq slid 16.05 points to 2,073.61. The S&P 500 dropped 5.65 to 1,152.11.