Stocks: Lower open on tap

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open lower Friday, possibly tilting the direction for the full week as well.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all down about 0.3% ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

The session starts with the three major indexes little changed after the first four days of the week. The Dow and the S&P 500 are up slightly, while the Nasdaq is a few points lower.

"Earnings have been good," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist of Key Private Bank. "If we can get a little bit more help in the economy, there is no reason we can't come out of this lethargic slump that has gripped the market for the last month or so."

Investors have endured a slew of disappointing economic reports in recent days, but have found solace in the Federal Reserve's likely continued support of the market -- even after its $600 billion bond-buying program expires at the end of June.

Investors are very curious to see how markets will react to the end of the stimulus program known as QE2. "There is plenty to be concerned about and wonder about over the course of time, particularly in the next month or so," said McCain.

Stocks ended slightly higher Thursday, as investors weighed three disappointing economic reports against a backdrop of ongoing support from the Federal Reserve.

Companies: After debuting Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of LinkedIn (LNKD) more than doubled from their IPO price -- making it one of the biggest tech IPOs since Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).

Shares of Barnes & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500) jumped 26% in premarket trading after the bookseller announced a proposal to be bought by Liberty Media for $17 per share in cash, a nearly $1 billion buyout offer.

World markets: European stocks edged higher in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, the DAX in Germany ticked up 0.2% and France's CAC 40 added 0.5%.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite shed less than 0.1% and Japan's Nikkei edged lower 0.1%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the Japanese yen and the British pound, and was little changed against the euro.

Oil for June delivery gained 36 cents, or 0.2%, to $98.80 a barrel. The contract for June oil settles Friday. The July contract, which is more active, rose 36 cents to $99.29.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,494.90 an ounce.

Silver futures for July delivery shaved 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $34.83 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged slightly higher, pushing the yield down to 3.15%.