NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Buoyed by the buying that sent the Dow Jones industrial average 109 points Friday, stocks were cued for a higher open on Monday.

"It might be a good one," said Mizuho Futures Vice President Phil Ruffat. "The momentum has definitely shifted higher."

Indeed, there was a discernable shift in attitude in Friday's session. With war worries looming, many Wall Streeters expected traders would sell stocks into the close. Instead, there was buying -- particularly among those investors who had bet against the market and wanted to cover short positions. The suggestion is that after a bout of heavy selling some big investors think that most of the market's losses are behind it, or, to put it another way, that stocks have finally "priced in" a war.

Stock index futures were higher, indicating a higher open.

Obviously, that notion isn't engraved in stone somewhere -- the market is obviously vulnerable to setback. Iraq remains a pressing subject for investors, with Secretary of State Colin Powell's scheduled Wednesday address before the United Nations anxiously awaited. Powell is expected to give detailed evidence that Iraq is hiding evidence of weapons of mass destruction from U.N. inspectors.

"The focus is still Iraq and what's going to happen there," said Ruffat. "That's the main issue."

The Columbia space shuttle disaster Saturday had no discernable effect on the overall market heading into the open, but some individual issues were lower. Chief was Alliant Techsystems (ATK: Research, Estimates), which derives nearly one-fifth of its sales from the shuttle program. The company's stock was down 8.9 percent in premarket trading.

The shuttle's primary builder is Dow component Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates), which took over Rockwell International's space business in 1996, was fractionally lower. Another shuttle contractor, Lockheed Martin (LMT: Research, Estimates), was off 1.8 percent.

Whether the market can keep stay in the green through the day may depend on how the January Purchasing Managers' Index, due out from the Institute of Supply Management at 10 a.m. ET, comes out. The index is expected to decline to 53 from the recently revised 55.2 in December, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Note, however, that consensus estimates may not reflect recent upward revisions to the ISM's data.

The Bush administration unveils its fiscal 2004 budget proposals Monday. It will reportedly show record projected deficits for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, and fiscal 2004.

Also due Monday throughout the session are the January vehicle sales reports. Already, Ford Motor (F: Research, Estimates) has indicated it will report higher sales for the month.

Mobile phone maker Ericsson (ERICY: Research, Estimates) reported its seventh consecutive quarterly loss. Sales fell 37 percent in the fourth-quarter from the year earlier period, missing analysts' estimates. Looking forward, the company said demand for mobile phone equipment will continue to decline by as much as 10 percent this year. However, the firm added that its business started to stabilize in the fourth quarter. Shares of the stock were down 9.9 percent in premarket trading.

In addition, global chip sales dropped 2.3 percent in December from the previous month, while 2002 growth was minimal, according to figures published Monday by an industry trade group.

Global semiconductor sales grew just 1.3 percent to $140.7 billion in 2002, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Association (WSTS). The slow expansion was unsurprising, amid prolonged weakness in the sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average begins the new week at 8,053.81 after dropping 0.9 percent last week. The Nasdaq composite index is at 1,320.91 following a 1.44 loss Friday; it fell 1.6 percent last week.

Asian-Pacific stocks finished mostly higher, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1.9 percent. Strength in insurance issues was among the factors in midday European gains.

Treasury prices were lower, in part because market participants expect that the government will need to issue more bonds to help shore up record deficits. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 3.99 percent from 3.97 percent late Friday.

The dollar continued its snapback, gaining ground against the euro and the yen. Japanese officials revealed that they had bought nearly $6 billion in greenbacks in a bid to weaken the yen. The strong yen hurts Japan's export-oriented economy and deepens deflationary pressures.

Brent oil futures slipped 35 cents to $30.75 a barrel. OPEC ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi said that crude supplies were ample and that they may cut production as early as next month. OPEC worries that with Venezuelan production is back on line and home heating demand falling off in the spring, it may face a glut.

Gold was off fractionally in London trading.

For a look at today's analyst comments, click here.