September is usually a rough month for equities, but as the first day of fall trading begins to unfold Wall Street futures are pointing to a positive open for stocks.

Canadian investors are anticipating an economic boost from the Bank of Canada, which is expected to make a 25 basis point rate on Wednesday.

Investors will also be looking to the August index of the U.S. Institute of Supply Management to be released Tuesday morning. The manufacturing sector index is expected to rise to 53, up from 51.8 in July.

In Europe at midday trading is up with Vivendi Universal among the biggest blue-chip gainers. Paris’s CAC40 index is up10.81 points, or 0.3%, to 3369.33, led higher by Vivendi, which rose 3.3% to 16.46 euros. It’s expected that the French media and utilities conglomerate is about to accept a multibillion-dollar merger proposal for its American entertainment assets.

Meanwhile, Euro-zone unemployment data came in line with expectations. The July jobless rate unchanged at 8.9%.

London’s FTSE 100 index is up a narrow two points, or 0.1%, to 4206.4. Frankfurt’s DAX index has risen 6.9 points, or 0.2%, to 3578.12.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 19.9 points, or 0.19%, to 10,690.08.

Hong Kong stocks closed slightly higher in a session shortened by the approach of a typhoon. The Hang Seng Index rose 36.54 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 10,939.94.

On Friday, the S&P/TSX composite index finished the session down 6.63 points to 7,510.32. For the week, the TSX added 0.6%, its fifth straight higher week. It also closed higher for the fifth month in a row.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 41.61 points to 9,415.82. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 10.28 points to 1,810.46. The broad S&P 500 index rose 5.18 points to 1,008.02.

For the week, Dow rose 0.72%, the S&P 500 gained 1.51% and the Nasdaq added 2.56%.

For the month of August, the Dow gained 1.97% while the S&P 500 rose 1.79%. Both have risen for six straight months. The Nasdaq gained 4.35% in August, its seventh winning month.