NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Investors will face a mixed open Thursday following a big rally in stocks overseas.

Stock futures came off earlier highs and were slightly lower in early trading, indicating a flat to mixed open for stocks.

Jobless claims came in higher than expected, with the Labor Department reporting a seasonally adjusted 308,000 for the week ended June 17. Economists were looking for a rise to 305,000 from the initially reported 295,000 the week prior, according to Briefing.com

Major U.S. markets jumped Wednesday on strong earnings reports.

Wednesday's gains extended overnight as major markets closed higher Thursday in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei jumping 3.4 percent and crossing the 15,000 mark. It was the biggest percentage gain for Asia's most widely watched stock index in five months.

Major European markets rose in early trading. British Airways (Charts) announced that British and U.S. regulators are investigating alleged price fixing of passenger fares and fuel surcharges by BA and other airlines. Shares of British Airways sank about 6 percent in London trading.

Elsewhere, oil prices climbed as well on projections of strong U.S. gasoline demand.

The August light crude futures contract for NYMEX added 28 cents to $70.61 a barrel in electronic trading, while the August contract for Brent crude gained 70 cents to $69.87.

Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.17 percent from the 5.15 percent level reached late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar rose against the yen and the euro.

In other economic news, leading economic indicators are due at 10 a.m.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com are looking for the index to fall 0.5 percent after a 0.1 percent decline in April. But the index, based mostly on already released economic readings, rarely moves markets.

Remarks by Federal Reserve officials have roiled markets in recent months, and Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto, a voting member of the central bank's rate-setting panel, is due to make opening remarks at a banking conference Thursday. But with the June 28-29 meeting less than a week a day, she is not expected to make any comments that could signal policy on rates.

In corporate news, software provider Oracle (Charts) is due to report results after the market close Thursday. The tech bellwether signaled a week ago it would top forecasts for improved results. Shares have gained 10 percent since the new guidance.

Chrysler Group, a unit of DaimlerChrysler (Charts), will roll out a new program next month similar to last year's popular employee pricing program, according to an industry report. The move is meant to clear a glut of unsold 2006 models and could prompt a new round of incentives from GM and Ford.

Elsewhere, investment firms Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts dropped out of the bidding for Univision Communications (Charts), the nation's biggest Spanish-language broadcaster, although other groups are still preparing bids for the company.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Federated Department Stores (Charts) is nearing a deal to sell its Lord & Taylor department-store chain to a private-equity firm and shopping-center developer for about $1.2 billion.

The newspaper also reported that aircraft maker Boeing (Charts) is looking to sell or close its in-flight Internet service Connexion after six years of losses for the offering, which has yet to be sold to any U.S. airline.

Related: More on the markets.