NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hurricane Ivan's impact on oil prices could keep U.S. markets unsettled when trading begins Tuesday.

Early Tuesday, Nasdaq and S&P futures were down slightly, although comparisons to fair value suggest markets could open slightly higher.

Oil prices continued their climb as the killer storm heads toward the oil production fields in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. crude futures rose 56 cents to $44.43 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent oil futures gained 64 cents to $41.70 a barrel in London.

The rise comes ahead of Wednesday's OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria, at which production quotas and price targets will be discussed. The increase is also in the wake of a car bombing in Iraq that killed at least 47 people.

Market analyst Larry Wachtel of Wachovia Securities pointed to Monday's market rise in the face of higher oil prices, saying investors aren't overly concerned about hurricane-inspired price hikes.

"This is what's known as a non-recurring event, the hurricane will hit and then it'll be gone," he said. "The price of oil moving to all-time highs is scary, but we've retreated from there. The question going forward is, after five weeks of gains, how long can you sustain the move?"

For details of Monday's activity, click above.

" I think the market has done quite well in what is supposed to be the worst month of the year, but at some point you're going to run into an overbought condition," Wachtel added.

Sony (SNE: Research, Estimates) finally completed a deal to acquire movie studio MGM, paying $2.85 billion in cash and assuming about $2 billion in debt. The deal values MGM (MGM: Research, Estimates) at $12 a share, 45 cents above Monday's close. Shares of Sony lost 1.5 percent in trading in Japan on Tuesday.

The government reported that August retail sales dipped 0.3 percent, compared with an upwardly revised 0.8 percent rise posted in July. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were forecasting a 0.1 percent decline in the period.

Retail sales, excluding autos, rose 0.2 percent, a bit less than the revised 0.3 percent rise in July but in line with economists' forecasts.

After the close, software manufacturer Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates) reports its quarterly results. Analysts surveyed by First Call forecast earnings of 9 cents a share.

Tech stocks rallied Monday, with the Nasdaq composite index gaining 0.9 percent. But higher oil prices contributed to a lackluster 1-2/3 point advance for the Dow Jones industrial average. (See chart for details)

Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed, with the Nikkei index up 0.4 percent. European markets were lower in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Walt Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) was higher. Dissidents, led by Walt Disney's nephew, said they'll continue to press for CEO Michael Eisner's departure next year, even though he has said he will retire in 2006.

Treasury prices rose slightly, lowering the yield to 4.13 from 4.14 percent late Monday. The dollar retreated against the yen but was higher versus the euro. Gold was higher.

In corporate news, chip manufacturer LSI Logic warned it would miss earnings and revenue targets, citing an inventory glut by its customers. Shares lost 30 cents to $4.95 in after-hours trading.