NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks appeared ready to start the new month higher Monday, as investors looked forward at improving economic and earnings reports.

One concern for investors though is oil prices rising again on the death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, which was announced early Monday.

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a higher opening for stocks.

The major stock indexes ended a strong July with a sell-off Friday following a slightly weaker-than-expected report on gross domestic product.

But the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the details in the GDP report, especially a drop in inventories, led many economists to raise forecasts for the second half of this year. This week is also expected to see strong auto sales reported Tuesday and solid jobs growth in Friday's employment report.

Second-quarter earnings reports have generally been strong so far, as the reporting period starts to wind down. But there are still some key results due this week, including one from consumer products leaderProcter & Gamble (Research), which is expected Monday.

Oil prices topped $61 a barrel in early trading on concerns about what King Fahd's death could mean for oil supplies.

The September light crude futures contract for NYMEX gained 45 cents to $61.02 a barrel in electronic trading, while the September contract for Brent crude rose 64 cents to $60.01.

Major markets in Asia closed mostly higher Monday, and major European markets were higher in early trading.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.30 percent from the 4.27 percent level late Friday. The dollar lost ground against on the euro and the yen.

For a more detailed look at the markets before the open, click here.