NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks looked to build on overseas gains Thursday ahead of some key earnings due after the bell.

U.S. stock futures were up, indicating a stronger opening for stocks.

Major markets in Asia closed mostly higher, led by Tokyo's Nikkei, which closed at its highest point in more than four years Thursday. Major European markets were higher in early trading on generally positive earnings reports there.

Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co., said that the overseas strength appeared to be setting the direction of futures in early trading, though he's not certain if that's enough strength to keep futures higher through the market open.

In economic news, the pace of home building slowed more than expected in October, according to the Census Bureau.

Housing starts in October came in at an annual pace of 2.01 million, down 5.6 percent from the prior month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that starts would slip to an annual rate of 2.06 million.

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, according to the Labor Department.

Jobless claims hit its lowest point since April with 303,000 initial claims for the week ended Nov. 12. Economists had said 322,000 people would file for unemployment, according to Briefing.com.

Two Dow components, computer and peripheral maker Hewlett-Packard (Research) and media conglomerate Walt Disney (Research), are both set to report results after the closing bell Thursday. HP is expected to report strong fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and give strong guidance for the current period. Disney is expected to show a slight decline in earnings.

Another Dow component, General Motors (Research) saw its stock edge higher in European trading on a report in the Wall Street Journal that investor Kirk Kerkorian, who owns a 9.9 percent stake in the embattled automaker, may seek a seat on its board of directors. But the paper also reports that Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner has the support of the company's board, despite growing investor discontent with him.

The world's largest automaker also faces a threat of being shutdown if its largest parts supplier, Delphi, is hit by a strike next month -- and the United Auto Workers union Wednesday rejected the parts maker's latest demand for concessions.

Oil prices were higher after Wednesday's rally following the weekly inventory report showed an unexpected drop in crude supplies. The December light crude futures contract for NYMEX rose 43 cents to $58.31 a barrel in electronic trading, while the January contract for Brent crude gained 65 cents to $56.65.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.50 percent from 4.47 percent late Wednesday. The dollar lost ground against on the euro and the yen.

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