Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

S&P futures 2014 09 02
Click chart for in-depth premarket data.

Summer is over. Let's get to work.

Here are the four things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:

1. Gearing up for gains: Barring any surprises, the stage is set for a positive open.

U.S. stock futures are moving up, European markets are firmly in positive territory in early trading, and Asian markets mostly closed with gains.

2. Yahooooo!: Yahoo (YHOO) is a strong performer premarket. Its shares are rising by about 2% as investors get excited about the upcoming Alibaba IPO, expected to launch next week. Yahoo owns a 24% stake in the Chinese tech giant.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

3. Economics: The Census Bureau will release data on construction spending at 10 a.m. ET. At the same time, the Institute for Supply Management will release its latest August data on the heath of the manufacturing sector.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

4. Stock market recap: U.S. stocks closed higher Friday. The Dow added nearly 19 points, while the S&P 500 moved up 0.3% and the Nasdaq closed 0.5% higher. August was a solid month in the stock market. The Dow rose by 3.2%, the S&P 500 climbed up by 3.8% and the Nasdaq soared by nearly 5%.

Still, a word of caution - September is historically a difficult month for markets.

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