Comeback Thursday?

Stocks look to get back on track after being battered by rising interest rate concerns.

March 24, 2005: 6:16 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks looked to get back on track Thursday, the last day of a shortened trading week that has seen equities and bonds both battered by rising concerns over rising interest rates.

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a higher opening for stocks.

Oil prices were higher in early trading Thursday following an explosion at a BP (Research) refinery near Houston that killed at least 14 and shut production from the nation's third largest refinery.

The May light crude contract gained 27 cents to $54.08 a barrel in electronic trading, while the May contract for Brent crude rose 50 cents to $53.54. Unleaded gasoline futures were also higher.

Major markets in Asia closed little changed Thursday. Major European markets were slightly higher in early trading.

Economic reports due Thursday include readings on durable goods orders and new home sales for February as well as weekly jobless claims.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that durable goods orders were up 0.8 percent following at 1.3 percent decline in January.

New home sales are forecast to climb to an annual rate of 1.15 million new home sales from 1.11 million in January.

Initial jobless claims are forecast to slip slightly to 315,000 last week from 318,000 the previous week.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.61 percent from the 4.58 percent level late Wednesday. The dollar gained ground on the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, Pixar Animation Studios (Research) gained in $1.35 in after-hours trading to $93.60 after announcing plans for a two-for-one stock split.