Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are up 0.9-1.6 percent, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.

General Motors Corp will file for bankruptcy later on Monday, U.S. officials said, forcing the 100-year-old automaker, once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism, into a new and uncertain era of government ownership.

General Motors shares in Frankfurt tumble 22.5 percent.

A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of substantially all of U.S. automaker Chrysler's assets to a group led by Italy's Fiat SpA in an opinion filed late on Sunday.

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

A major goal of Geithner's maiden visit to China as Treasury chief is to allay concerns that Washington's bulging budget deficit and ultra-loose monetary policy will fan inflation, undermining both the dollar and U.S. bonds.

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, U.S. Commerce Department releases 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.

Commerce Department also releases April construction spending at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast spending to fall 1.5 percent compared with a 0.3 percent increase in March.

The Institute for Supply Management issues its May manufacturing index at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 42.2 versus 40.1 in April.

European shares rose almost across the board as data showing China's manufacturing sector continued to expand in May boosted Asian stocks, adding to the positive sentiment seen in Wall Street's higher close on Friday.

Basic resources, which includes mining and steel companies seen by analysts as among the beneficiaries of economic growth in China, was the main gainer, with the DJ Stoxx sector index <.SXPP> up 6.2 percent at its highest level since mid-October.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 96.53 points, or 1.15 percent, to 8,500.33 on Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 12.31 points, or 1.36 percent, to 919.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 22.54 points, or 1.29 percent, to 1,774.33.

Commodity shares will be in focus as crude oil prices jumped more than 2 percent to a seven-month high. Key base metals prices rose more than 3 percent.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Simon Jessop)

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