NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks could have some trouble in early trading Friday after a report of an explosion at an Saudi Arabian oil facility and other global uncertainty lifted oil prices.

U.S. stock futures, which had been higher in early trading, turned lower after a report on Al Arabiya television of an explosion and shooting heard at Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil facility.

Oil prices spiked above the $62 mark after the report out of Saudi Arabia. They had risen earlier in the morning on recent news of Iraq imposing a curfew to try to stem sectarian violence and Nigerian militants released pictures of seven foreign oil workers they are holding as hostages.

The April light crude futures contract for NYMEX were trading up $2 to $62.54 a barrel in electronic trading, while the April contract for Brent crude rose 91 cents to $61.45.

Also in the mix this morning, durable goods orders plunged 10.2 percent in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that orders for those big ticket items fell 2 percent after a revised 2.5 percent gain in December.

Major markets in Asia closed mixed Friday, with Japan's Nikkei rallying after being sharply lower in early trading to close nearly flat. European markets were slightly higher in early trading.

Anthony Chan, chief economist at JPMorgan Private Client Services, said before the report out of Saudi Arabia that overseas markets could be helping to support U.S. futures in earlier trading.

"I actually think the late day recovery in Japan was very encouraging," he said. He also said that investors could be looking ahead to speeches scheduled Friday by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson, who announced this week he would resign from the central bank.

"You would expect Ferguson to be a little more candid," said Chan. "There's hope with the parade of Fed speakers, we'll get some clarity and that clarity could be positive."

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 4.56 percent from 4.55 percent late Thursday. The dollar was lower against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, a federal judge is due to consider a request for an injunction to shut down the BlackBerry mobile e-mail service of Research in Motion (Research). RIM executives said Thursday that patent holding company NTP's existing offer to settle a legal battle was unacceptable.

The company has vowed to continue its service even if it loses the court fight, but there is a chance a ruling could prompt a negotiated settlement between the two companies.

No. 1 chipmaker Intel (Research) was down almost 1 percent in European trading after Friedman Billings downgraded the stock to a neutral "market perform" rating from its earlier "outperform" rating.

Clothing retailer Gap (Research) reported lower earnings in line with forecasts, and it cut its guidance for the coming year. Shares of Gap lost nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading.

Dubai Ports World has agreed to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.

Tax preparation service H&R Block admitted late Thursday that it had underestimated its own "state effective income tax rate" in previous quarters -- meaning it owes another $32 million in back taxes. The announcement will force the company to restate results going back to 2004, as well as causing a public relations hit in the middle of its key tax preparation season.

British utility National Grid (Research) is poised to buy New York utility and natural-gas distributor KeySpan (Research) for $7 billion, according to published reports.

For a more detailed look at the markets before the open, click here.