U.S. stock index futures rose more than 1 percent on Monday as stronger Chinese economic data lifted investor optimism that the worst of the global recession was past.

Basic resources and energy stocks, seen by analysts as among the beneficiaries of economic growth in China, rose in premarket trade. Alcoa Inc gained 2.9 percent to $9.49, while Exxon Mobil Corp added 1 percent to $70.05.

U.S. front month crude oil rose more than 2 percent to a seven-month high, extending its largest monthly gain in a decade on increased expectations for a global economic recovery.

General Motors Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker into a new and uncertain era of government ownership in a move some analysts said will have a far-reaching impact on the global economy.

With uncertainty about GM's future lifted and China leading the way to an assumed global economic recovery, investors are increasingly getting the warm and fuzzies toward the equity markets, said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey.

Today it's the veil of uncertainty on GM being lifted and three month in a row growth of manufacturing in China is helping the process along.

China's manufacturing sector continued to expand moderately in May as new export orders improved, two surveys showed, adding to tentative signs that the world's third-largest economy is stabilizing.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reassured the Chinese government Monday its huge holdings of dollar assets are safe and reaffirmed his faith in a strong U.S. currency.

S&P 500 futures rose 14.20 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 97 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 12.25 points.

On the economic front, at 8:30 a.m. <1230 GMT>, the U.S. Commerce Department will release April personal income and consumption data. Economists in a Reuters survey expect April income and spending to both fall 0.2 percent. In March, income fell 0.3 percent and spending was down 0.2 percent.

The Commerce Department also will release April construction spending at 10 a.m. <1400 GMT>. Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast spending to fall 1.3 percent compared with an 0.3 percent increase in March.

The Institute for Supply Management is to issue its May manufacturing index, also at 10 a.m. <1400 GMT>. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 42.2 versus 40.1 in April.

Prudential Financial Inc

shares shed 0.6 percent to $39.69 in premarket trade after the No. 2 U.S. life insurer said it would offer $1.25 billion of common stock after turning down aid from the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program.

European shares rose broadly on the China data, and Asian stocks rose to eight-month highs, adding to the positive sentiment seen in Wall Street's higher close on Friday.

U.S. stocks rose Friday to cap off their third straight monthly advance, as rising commodity prices boosted shares of natural resource companies, while a sliding dollar increased the appeal of multinationals, including Coca-Cola Co .

Since hitting a 12-year low in early March, the Dow has gained nearly 30 percent and the S&P 500 is up nearly 36 percent.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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