Stocks set to stay in slide

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open Wednesday as fears of debt contagion in Europe continued to weigh on investors, although the losses were expected to be less severe than the previous session.

Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were lower.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

Stock markets around the world sank Tuesday amid rumors that Spain was negotiating a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. On Wall Street, the S&P dived 2.4% and the blue-chip Dow tumbled 2%.

The rumors were denied Tuesday by Spanish officials and the IMF, which helped ease some worries Wednesday that a fiscal contagion was spreading in Europe.

"There is a slight stabilization in the market given the lack of rumors that were around yesterday," said Philip Isherwood, equities strategist at Evolution Securities in London. "Corporate news has been good and the flow of economic data has been fine."

But the outlook for Spain remains uncertain, he said. "We know that governments are not risk free."

Many investors remain worried that Europe's fourth largest economy could face a crisis similar to Greece, where workers declared a general strike this week to protest austerity measures attached to a $146 billion bailout.

Economy: The latest readings on jobs may offer investors a distraction from the debt woes in Europe.

Outplacement firm Challenger releases a report on layoffs at 7:30 a.m. ET. That's followed at 8:15 a.m. ET by a reading on private-sector payrolls.

Earnings: Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500) reported its highest quarterly profit in company history, easily beating Wall Street's forecasts.

The New York-based parent company of CNNMoney.com and Fortune said its net income rose to $725 million, or 62 cents per share, up 10% from a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, forecasted earnings of 48 cents per share.

Companies: Shares of biotech firm InterMune (ITMN) plunged 80% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the Food and Drug Administration rejected the firm's application for a lung drug.

World markets: Stocks in Europe were lower in morning trading, extending the previous session's sharp losses.

Asian markets also declined. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 2.1% and Taiwan's TSEC 50 index plunged nearly 3%. Markets in Japan were closed.

Other markets: The dollar rose versus the euro, with the shared currency near a 12-month low. The U.S. currency was up versus the yen and flat against the pound.

The price of oil slid 70 cents to $82.04 a barrel. Gold prices fell $1.50 to $1,167.50 an ounce.

Bond prices were mixed, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond at 3.6%.