NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Another round of strong tech earnings could support stocks in the face of continued high oil prices.

U.S. stock futures were up narrowly in early trading, indicating a flat to slightly higher open for U.S. markets, as oil prices up slightly in early trading after ending Wednesday at a record closing high.

The May light crude futures contract for NYMEX gained 11 cents to $72.28 a barrel in electronic trading, while the June contract for Brent crude edged 7 cents higher to $73.80.

Tech stocks were somewhat mixed in after-hours trading Wednesday on generally solid earnings results from such bellwethers of Intel (Research), Apple Computer (Research) and eBay (Research).

Thursday morning saw General Motors (Research) post an operating profit in the first quarter, excluding all special items.

But just including health care charges the company reported a loss of $529 million, or 94 cents a share. It was not immediately clear which number compares to the forecast of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call, who had a consensus forecast of a loss of 44 cents a share.

No. 1 cell phone maker Nokia post improved results that beat forecasts. Companies due to report results before the bell include Dow components Altria, Merck (Research).

In economic news, the government said jobless claims fell by 10,000 last week, slightly more than expected, to 303,000.

Major markets in Asia closed lower Thursday on rising oil prices. Major European markets also were down in early trading.

Treasury prices fell, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.04 from 5.02 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was higher against the yen and the euro.

In other corporate news, Ford Motor (Research) announced it is taking a $2.4 billion charge associated with its plans to close 14 plants in coming years. Ford is due to report results Friday.

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