Stocks set to advance at the open

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were set to open higher Wednesday, ahead of payroll data expected to show that private sector employers added over 200,000 jobs this month.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

U.S. stocks finished near session highs Tuesday, thanks to solid gains in telecommunication and retail stocks including AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500).

So far this week, investors have shrugged off ongoing global concerns in the Middle East, Libya and Japan. Stocks in Japan rallied overnight, while shares in Europe were higher in active trading.

On the domestic front, investors are looking to the end of the week, when the government will release its key snapshot of the nation’s job market. A CNNMoney survey of 18 economists forecasts an 180,000 jump in payrolls. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 8.9%.

Economy: Outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas will report on planned layoffs for March, the first of three labor-related reports that investors will get this week. The report is due at 7:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.

The ADP private-sector jobs report is due at 8:15 a.m. Wall Street is looking for an addition of 210,000 private-sector jobs, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Investors look to the ADP report as a guide for what’s coming in Friday’s government report.

Companies: Discount retailer Family Dollar (FDO, Fortune 500) will report quarterly results before the opening bell.

World markets: European stocks were higher in midday trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%, the DAX in Germany jumped 1.4% and France’s CAC 40 added 0.8%.

Asian markets ended mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei rallied 2.6% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.7%, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen, but fell versus the British pound.

Oil for May delivery slid 44 cents to $104.35 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery rose/fell $2.10 to $1,418.30 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was steady, with the yield unchanged from Tuesday at 3.49%.