NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stock futures were mixed Thursday as oil prices declined and jobless claims rose.

Early Thursday, Nasdaq futures were lower, but S&P futures were up a bit.

The arrival of Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, an Iraq city torn by battles over much of this month, helped ease oil prices. U.S. crude futures fell 34 cents to $43.13 a barrel in electronic trading early Thursday, while Brent oil futures fell 63 cents to $40.05 a barrel in London

Also contributing to oil's decline: OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said he wants a faster retreat in prices and will discuss whether to raise the official output ceiling at its Sept. 15 meeting

Oil, which has fallen more than $6 from the intraday peak reached last week, rose earlier after saboteurs in Iraq attacked a group of eight pipelines linking a main southern oilfield to a pumping station near the city of Basra, an Iraqi oil official said. Shipping agents said southern Iraqi exports, recently restored to a full two million barrels a day, had been cut to 1.1 million bpd.

The government reported 343,000 filed for initial jobless claims in the week ended Aug. 21. That's up 10,000 from the revised reading of 333,000 who filed the previous weeks. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast a rise to only 335,000 last week.

Stocks were sleep-walking Wednesday until oil prices started to drop at midday -- then the major indexes rose and shined. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.8 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 1.3 percent.

Asian-Pacific stocks were little changed; Tokyo's Nikkei index fell less than a point. European markets rose in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, General Motors (GM: Research, Estimates) rose 1 percent. Company officials said Wednesday that protests from safety groups prompted the No. 1 automaker to pull a Corvette television ad; the groups feared the ad encouraged youngsters to drive their parents' cars.

Shares of Starbucks (SBUX: Research, Estimates) fell nearly 4 percent in after-hours trading after the coffee-shop chain reported its slowest growth in 14 months for sales at stores open at least a year.

Treasury prices were little changed in early trading, as the 10-year note yield remained near the 4.26 percent level it hit late Wednesday. The dollar was higher against the yen and euro. Gold was lower.

Personal computer maker Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates) is expected to announce an expanded selection of its consumer electronics line in the next several weeks, according to a report from a retail analysts.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's biggest health-maintenance organizations, is reconsidering its use of the Merck's arthritis medicine Vioxx after a major study based on data from its patients found increased the risk of serious heart problems. Merck (MRK: Research, Estimates) shares were down 1.5 percent in European trading.

Doughnut retailer Krispy Kreme (KKD: Research, Estimates) reported quarterly results far worse than forecasts early Thursday, and the company again scaled back expansion plans for the current fiscal year.