Stocks poised to pull back

Click chart for pre-market action. By CNNMoney staffJanuary 5, 2011: 8:03 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised to head lower Wednesday, taking cues from European markets, as investors await another round of economic reports.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all lower ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

The major indexes ended a tumultuous session mixed Tuesday as investors mulled over reports on auto sales, factory orders and the Federal Reserve's December meeting.
Stocks have been on quite a roll, ending 2010 with double-digit gains. It might be tough to keep that momentum going, say analysts, especially as investors wait on tenderhooks for the government's closely-watched jobs report due Friday.
"The unemployment number is really the most important thing at this point, so there's a little bit of caution," said Philip Isherwood, equities strategist at Evolution Securities. "There's a temptation to take profits after having the best December since 1991, but strong economic data could change people's mind -- we started the week with gains, and we could end the week with gains too."
Economy: Before the opening bell, outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that planned job cuts fell 59% to 530,000 in 2010, the lowest level in 13 years.
A separate report on private sector job cuts from payroll processor ADP is due at 8:15 a.m. ET.

Fed tug-of-war: Economic growth vs. weakness

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect the ADP report to show that private-sector employment increased by 100,000 in December, compared to November's 93,000 rise.
The two reports could set the tone ahead of the Friday's monthly jobs report. Economists expect employers boosted payrolls by 135,000 last month, following a 39,000 increase in November.
After the opening bell Wednesday, a report from the Institute of Supply Management is forecast to show that activity picked up in the service sector last month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect the ISM Non-manufacturing Index to register at 55.7, compared to November's 55.0 reading.
Also on the docket is a mid-morning report on crude oil inventory levels.
Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic leaders launch the 112th Congress at noon. The new Congress pledges to make job creation its first priority.
World markets: European stocks retreated in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7%%, the DAX in Germany tumbled 1.6% and France's CAC 40 slipped 1.4%.
Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite ticked down 0.5%, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.4%.

Commodities '11: $100 oil, $1,500 gold

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.
Oil for February delivery slipped $1.15 to $88.23 a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell 90 cents to $1,377.90 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 3.30%, from 3.34% late Tuesday.  

-cnn