Stocks headed for higher open

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were poised to open higher after AIG reached a deal to sell off its Asian unit and investors digested the latest news on personal income and spending.

Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were higher in comparison to fair value.

Futures measure current index values against the perceived future performance.

On Friday, stocks ended little changed. Investors were cautious after a surprise drop in existing home sales, a surprise rise in GDP growth and AIG's worse-than-expected quarterly decline.

Derek Hoffman, chief executive and founder of Wall St. Cheat Sheet, said the AIG sale was helping to drive the futures market.

"That is a good sign for the market, to see deals being done, companies being acquired, especially with AIG, which has been under a lot of scrutiny since the downturn of 2008," he said. "I think AIG right now is just trying to improve their financial situation, going into safer hands with a more risk averse group."

Companies: AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) said Monday that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell its Asian life insurance business to Britain's Prudential PLC in a deal valued at $35.5 billion. The deal includes $25 billion in cash, which AIG says is the largest cash proceeds it's received from any sale during its current restructuring efforts.

Economy: Investors have plenty of economic data to mull over on Monday.

Before the bell, the U.S. Census Bureau released its monthly report on personal income and spending. The government said that spending rose 0.5% in January, even though income increased only 0.1%.

Income and spending were both expected to have risen 0.4%, according to a consensus of economist forecasts from Briefing.com.

After the open, the Census Bureau will release its monthly report on construction spending, which is expected to have slipped 0.5% in January, according to Briefing.com consensus.

Also, the Institute for Supply Management will release its manufacturing index, which is expected to edge down to 57.8 for February, compared to the 58.4 the prior month, according to the Briefing.com consensus. That would still be an indication of expansion in the sector.

International markets: European markets rose in midday trading. Asian markets closed higher, with the Nikkei rising 0.5%.

Cash and bonds: The dollar rose versus the euro, the yen and the pound. The price of the 10-year note fell, pushing up the yield to 3.60%.

Oil and metals: The price of oil rose 22 cents per barrel to $79.88. The price of gold increased $2.50 per ounce to $1,116.50.

Copper gained 6.2 cents to $3.346 a pound, following the devastating earthquake in Chile, the world's leading producer of the metal.