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Small-cap stocks are expected to open lower, pulled down by employment jitters stirred by a private jobs survey ahead of Friday’s big report, and by losses on equity markets around the world overnight. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was off about 0.4% in after-hours trading, which would suggest an open near 739.

The weekly unemployment claims report came in at 424,000, which was in line with the forecast of 423,000. Also, the productivity release was at 4.3%, well ahead of the 3% projection.

Also, ahead of the open, the ADP National Employment Report came in at minus 33,000, which was worse than the consensus forecast for a dip of 20,000. This could raise the caution flag ahead of Friday’s big monthly employment release, and indeed, stock index futures extended declines after the report came out. However, it should be noted that the ADP report has not been tracking well with the employment survey for quite some time.

Crude oil prices were up about $0.70 a barrel toward the $110 level as refineries in the Gulf of Mexico were still shuttered from the storms, even though Gustav did not wreak significant damage to the facilities. The market will get weekly inventory later this morning at 10:35 a.m. ET, which could stir some volatility in the commodity mix. The U.S. dollar was hovering near steady levels, despite being buffeted from all sides by reams of economic data in the U.S. and a host of central bank meetings in Europe.

Stocks on the move overnight include Navistar International Corp. (NYSE:NAV), which rallied more than 10% after posting strong earnings. In addition, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up about 0.7% on impressive August . . .