* U.S. payrolls data on tap
* Oil remains under pressure
* Futures up: Dow 15 pts, S&P 1.6 pts, Nasdaq 6.75 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see STXNEWS/US
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By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures advanced on Friday after four consecutive days of losses, with investors awaiting Friday's key U.S. payroll report while digesting the impact of the tumble in commodity prices.
U.S. crude futures
Exxon Mobil Corp
"It's not completely clear that lower oil prices isn't just good for most stocks and it's possible that you could see a separation between what is happening in commodities -- at least for a while -- and some continued strength in equity prices. What you will end up with if this continues, is a shift in leadership," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
Wall Street stock indexes fell for a fourth straight day on Thursday as a massive sell-off in commodities spilled over into other markets, forcing investors out of higher-risk assets and rattling equities markets before Friday's U.S. payrolls data.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls, due at 8:30 a.m. [1230 GMT], are expected to have risen by 186,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists. In March payrolls rose by 216,000 which was the biggest increase in 10 months. For details, see [nLDE74502M]
The benchmark S&P 500 has fallen 2.1 percent this week on a string of soft economic data, culminating in a drop in commodity prices on Thursday as concerns over demand deterioration increased.
"You'd like to see a good trend and anything that starts to interrupt that trend is going to cause some concern. When the trend starts to move the other way, you could see a much bigger correction in stocks than you are seeing here," said Meckler.
Commodity-based stocks led the S&P to a 4.5 percent gain at the start of the week after the benchmark index tested the technical support level of 1,300 on April 18.
S&P 500 futures
Companies that have posted results on Friday include
Constellation Energy Group
Through Thursday, with 421 of the S&P 500 companies having reported quarterly earnings, 68 percent had profits that beat Wall Street expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.
European shares dipped as caution prevailed ahead of the U.S. payrolls report which could point to a slowing of momentum in the world's largest economy. [.EU]
Asian equities clawed back up from the day's lows as market players squared positions before U.S. payrolls data.[ID:nLDE74505S]
( Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)