NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks could slide at Thursday's open on continued high oil prices.

U.S. futures were down, indicating a lower open for markets, on higher oil prices as militants in Nigeria threatened new attacks to disrupt production there, and a winter storm threatened the Northeast, the region of the country that uses the most home heating oil.

The April light crude futures contract for NYMEX gained 70 cents to $62.67 a barrel in electronic trading, while the April contract for Brent crude rose 70 cents to $63.15. The rise was despite continued high inventories, as reported by the government Wednesday.

Internet bellwether Google holds a much anticipated meeting with analysts starting at 1 p.m. ET Thursday. Comments Tuesday from its chief financial officer about a slower growth outlook caused shares to fall sharply and hurt the markets overall. Shares of Google (Research) were narrowly higher in pre-market trading on Inet Thursday.

Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co., said that he believed the oil prices were weighing somewhat on stock futures, but he also thought that nervousness about what Google officials will say were also a concern.

"Obviously, you would think that Google is going to be a little more guarded about what they say and orchestrate it bit better than they did on Tuesday. But they never fail to add some excitement to our lives," said Hogan. "It doesn't help their shareholders that we have to live through the volatility they create for themselves."

Major markets in Asia closed mostly higher Thursday, although Japan's Nikkei closed slightly lower in spite of gains at Japanese auto stocks on more gains in U.S. market share in February. Major European markets were mixed in early trading ahead of the expected quarter-percentage point interest rate hike from the European Central Bank.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.59 percent from 4.58 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was higher against the yen but down against the euro.

In corporate news, major U.S. retail chains reported February sales. Most early reports Thursday were in line with expectations, although retailers specializing in teenage shoppers, a hot segment in recent months, was trailing forecasts.

Wal-Mart Stores, the world's No. 1 retailer, met its previous guidance of a 3.2 percent rise sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched retail measure known as same-store sales.

Auto parts maker Dana (Research) announced late Wednesday it had missed making $21 million in interest payments that had been due Wednesday, the latest sign. Shares of Dana lost 22.7 percent in after-hours trading to $1.43 on fears it could be the next parts maker to seek bankruptcy court protection.

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