Stock index futures rose on Tuesday after economic data out of China drew investors into an equities market that had become oversold from a technical perspective after six weeks of sharp declines.

Still, a rebound is expected to be short-lived as recent weak economic data has investors focused on a retreat in the S&P 500 index to March lows near the 1,250 level. The index closed at 1,271.83 on Monday.

Inflation is still a concern in China after data showed consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in almost three years, but industrial output grew 13.3 percent from a year ago, in line with forecasts.

China's central bank later increased the reserve requirement ratio for commercial lenders by 50 basis points.

News out of China is somewhat encouraging in spite of the fact they raised reserve requirements, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York. He said the data is a sign that perhaps China's economy can avoid a hard landing, and that's cheering the markets.

On the U.S. macroeconomic front, investors awaited data on producer prices, retail sales and business inventories.

Retail sales are going to indicate the consumer has somewhat put the brakes on spending, Cardillo said.

The real focus will be on the fact that the market is in a technical correction and we have options expiration this week, so any rallies might continue to be short-lived.

Options expiration alters the market regardless of fundamentals as traders and investors try to pin, or lock in the S&P 500 at a preset level to make their bets more profitable.

S&P 500 futures rose 9.5 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration of the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 47 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 11.5 points.

The European debt crisis is still in the forefront as policymakers remained divided over how to involve the private sector in Greece's next bailout package, which is expected to be finalized at a Brussels summit on June 23-24.

Nokia notched up a rare victory against archrival Apple Inc as the iPhone maker agreed to settle a long-running dispute over patents. U.S.-traded shares of Nokia rose 3.8 percent to $6.34 in premarket trading.

Car renter Avis Budget Group Inc agreed to buy London-listed Avis Europe in a $1 billion cash deal to increase its presence in markets such as India and China.

European stocks were up 0.6 percent in morning trade, adding to the previous session's tentative bounce, helped by the Chinese data that also fueled gains in Asian equities.

U.S. stocks drifted sideways on Monday in what was seen as a temporary pause in a selloff brought on by growing fears of another economic downturn.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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