NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Investors could get a lift Friday from a reported agreement between Time Warner and Comcast to buy Adelphia Communications as well as a continued decline in oil prices.

U.S. stock futures were mixed. But comparisons to fair value suggested stocks could be on their way to their fifth straight day of gains for the first time in more than a month.

Time Warner (Research) and Comcast (Research) are set to pay $18 billion for bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications Corp., according to media reports quoting sources familiar with the matter.

The tentative deal, in cash and stock warrants, trumps a potential rival bid by cable firm Cablevision Systems (Research), which was preparing a $16.5 billion cash bid for Adelphia, according to sources.

Separately, Cablevision announced it will go ahead with its plan to close its Rainbow DBS unit, which operates the Voom satellite television service, marking an apparent end to an ongoing company battle over the satellite venture.

Oil prices continued their recent descent as investors continue to ponder the fact that gasoline stockpiles are higher than a year ago. U.S. light crude for May delivery fell 53 cents to $53.58 a barrel, while Brent crude was 41 cents lower at $53.63.

"Oil prices are slipping, and that's generally good news for the market," Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist at PNC Advisors, told Reuters.

The Dow industrials have risen every day so far this week, including Thursday's 0.6 percent advance. The Nasdaq composite was up three of the four days following a nearly 1 percent surge.

In overseas markets, Asian stocks showed strength, with Tokyo's Nikkei index ending up 0.5 percent. European bourses began their sessions with gains.

Treasury prices were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note holding at 4.48 percent. The dollar gained ground on the euro, reaching a 2-month peak, while slipping slightly versus the yen.

The stronger dollar and the threat of some International Monetary Fund sales sent gold lower.

In other corporate news, Advanced Micro Devices (Research) is expected to launch its new dual-processing chips later this month, well ahead of schedule, CNET News.com reported. The chips, with two cores that can operate independently, could be the biggest change in personal computer technology in a decade, industry watchers say.

Ariba (Research) warned that second-quarter revenue would fall short of its previous forecast due to weakness in the business software market.

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