NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Oil prices hit a record high, and that could stall the recent U.S. stock market rally when trading begins Wednesday.

U.S. stock futures were down in early trading, indicating a lower opening for stocks, after Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both hit 4-year highs in trading Tuesday.

Oil prices will likely set the tone for the day, hitting a new record high in premarket trading Wednesday ahead of the weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories.

The September light crude futures contract for NYMEX gained 37 cents to $62.26 a barrel in electronic trading, after reaching a record $62.47 that topped the record trading high set Monday at $62.30.

The September contract for Brent crude rose 48 cents to $61.10, easing from the record $61.25.

Major markets in Asia closed mostly higher Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei at a 15-month peak, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed slightly lower. Major European markets were lower in early trading.

Treasury prices were higher, cutting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.32 percent from the 4.33 percent level late Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury Department is expected to announce the return of the 30-year bond Wednesday, according to published reports. The dollar lost ground against on the euro and the yen.

Economic reports due Wednesday include the reading on the strength of the nation's services sector from the Institute of Supply Management. The ISM Services index is forecast to fall to 61.0 for July from a 62.2 level in June, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

In corporate news, Time Warner (Research), the world's largest media conglomerate and owner of CNN/Money, said that its quarterly earnings fell, and that it reached a $2.5 billion settlement to securities fraud litigation.

The company increased its reserves related to litigation by $3 billion.

Time Warner earned about $850 million, or 18 cents a share, excluding special items including the increased reserves for litigation. That's down from $882 million, or 19 cents a share, it earned on that basis a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast EPS to stay at 19 cents.

Taking into account special items -- including the litigation settlement -- Time Warner reported a net loss of $321 million, or 7 cents a share.

German athletic shoe and apparel maker Adidas-Salomon announced a deal to buy U.S. competitor Reebok (Research) for $3.8 billion, a premium of about a third over Tuesday's closing price. The move would give Adidas about 20 percent of the U.S. athletic shoe market.

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