STOCKS HEADED FOR SOFT OPEN

Click on the chart for more premarket data. By CNNMoney staffMay 4, 2011: 6:51 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were set for a muted open Wednesday, as investors await economic reports on the labor market, and as gold and silver prices drop.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) and S&P 500 (SPX) futures were up about 0.1% ahead of the opening bell, while Nasdaq (COMP) futures were flat. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks struggled for a second session as disappointing corporate earnings, and a steep drop in the price of oil, weighed on the broader market.

After losing more than 2% in the previous session, oil for June delivery gained 12 cents to $111.17 a barrel Wednesday morning.

However, other commodities continued to sell-off.

Gold futures for June delivery fell $3.40 to $1,537.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for July delivery shed 87 cents to $41.72, after sinking more than 7% in the previous session.

Economy: Wall Street will receive the latest read on the job market Wednesday, when ADP releases its April private sector employment report at 8:15 a.m. ET.

Economists polled by Briefing.com expect that the private sector created 200,000 jobs in April, about the same as the 201,000 created the month prior. The ADP report is often used as a forecast of Friday’s more-important government jobs report.

On Wednesday morning, investors will also get the latest data on planned job cuts from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Companies: In earnings, media companies News Corp (NWSA). and Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500) will report their quarterly results. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect News Corp. to earn 27 cents a share when it reports after the closing bell, while TimeWarner is expected to earn 56 cents a share. TimeWarner is the parent company of CNNMoney.

Investors will also get results from Prudential Financial, WholeFoods (WFMI, Fortune 500), MetLife (MET, Fortune 500), and video game publisher Electronic Arts (ERTS, Fortune 500).

World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.5%, while the DAX in Germany edged up 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 added 0.2%.

Asian markets ended the session lower. The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.3%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 1.4%. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for holiday.

Currencies: The dollar lost ground against the euro and the British pound, but gained slightly against the Japanese yen.

Bonds: Bond prices were little changed. The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged slightly lower, pushing the yield up to 3.26%. 

First Published: May 4, 2011: 6:41 AM ET