NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Oil's skyrocket ride is likely to drag on U.S. stocks when markets open Thursday.

Early Thursday, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower.

Once again, the culprit in the morning bearishness is oil. U.S. crude futures rose 36 cents from Wednesday's settlement to $52.38 a barrel in electronic trading after getting as high as $52.53, another intraday record. Brent oil futures gained 31 cents to $48.30 a barrel in London, off its newly set peak of $48.45.

"It's all about oil this morning," said Oliver Stevens of IG Index in London told Reuters early Thursday. "Oil hit a record high yesterday and the market shrugged it off. But oil is even higher this morning, and I think that's hit European stocks, which has dragged the U.S. down as well."

Still, Stevens said unless oil prices make a significant move, he expected the market to be quiet Thursday ahead of Friday's U.S. employment report for September.

For details of Wednesday's advance, click above.

Stocks managed gains Wednesday despite the runup to $52 a barrel in oil. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 62 points, while the Nasdaq composite index was 15-1/2 points higher (see chart for details).

The weekly jobless claims report is due before the open, with the number of initial filings expected to have declined to 355,000 in the week ended Oct. 2 from 369,000 in the prior week, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Also due Thursday are the September same-store sales reports of individual retailers, although No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: Research, Estimates) pre-reported a disappointing 2.3 percent increase last Saturday.

After the close, aluminum maker Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates) becomes the first Dow component to report its third-quarter results. Analysts surveyed by First Call foresee earnings of 33 cents a share, unchanged from a year earlier.

Leading contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing said Thursday its sales fell in September for the first time in seven months and warned a broad industry slowdown could continue the sales slide.

Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed Thursday, with a 0.3 percent loss for Tokyo's Nikkei index snapping a five-session winning streak. European markets edged lower in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates) was higher. Investment bank Smith Barney raised its earnings forecast for the world's biggest fast-food retailer early Thursday. The company announced Wednesday afternoon that pop group Destiny's Child will be the new representative of its "I'm Lovin' It" campaign in an effort to appeal to kids and moms.

Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.22 percent. The dollar slipped against the yen and euro. Gold was little changed.