Wall Street weighs oil rise

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks could have a tough open Friday as oil prices rose past a benchmark level and a major court decision went against tech bellwether Microsoft.

S&P and Nasdaq futures edged lower in early trading, although a comparison to fair value pointed to a flat or mixed open for the major indexes.

Oil prices crossed the $61 a barrel mark in early trading, continuing the rally Thursday following a report showing bigger-than-expected drop in inventories. U.S. light crude gained 22 cents to $61.17 a barrel in electronic trading.

Markets in Asia closed mixed, while major indexes in Europe were little changed.

The dollar rose against the euro but edged lower against the yen after being higher against the Japanese currency overnight.

Treasury bond prices crept higher, taking the yield on the 10-year note to 4.72 percent from 4.73 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Just before the close Thursday, a federal jury rule Microsoft (Charts) infringed audio patents held by Alcatel-Lucent (Charts) and should pay $1.5 billion in damages. Shares of Dow component Microsoft slipped in Frankfurt, while Alcatel-Lucent shares gained 2.3 percent in Paris.

Lowe's (Charts), the No. 2 home improvement retailer, reported a drop in fiscal fourth quarter earnings but the results narrowly beat Wall Street forecasts.

Radio broadcaster Clear Channel also topped forecasts and reported improved results.

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