Stock index futures rose on Monday after Wall Street ended January with its worst month in nearly a year as investors bet that data will show signs the U.S. economy continues to mend.

The Institute for Supply Management's January manufacturing index and December construction spending are due at 10 a.m. EST, with expectations that the manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in nearly four years, following strong data from China, Australia and the euro zone.

Meanwhile, a top European Union official said Greece's fiscal cutback plans were ambitious but achievable, relieving some anxiety that drove investors away from risky assets, including stocks, last week. Greek government bonds rebounded Monday to outperform benchmark German Bunds.

There is expectation of a (market) bounce, driven by continued positive economic data, said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in North Brunswick, New Jersey.

S&P 500 futures rose 5.6 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 46 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 5.5 points.

Investors also awaited earnings reports, including energy group Exxon Mobil Corp and homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc .

President Barack Obama unveiled a budget that projected the 2010 deficit soaring to a post-World War Two high of $1.56 trillion, or 10.6 percent of the economy, but falling steeply to half that level by the time his term ends in 2012.

People are aware of the deficit and the record budget, Bakhos said. I don't think the average investor will trade on the back of that.

U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, as worries about fiscal turmoil in Europe and a drop in technology stocks pushed the S&P 500 to its worst monthly decline since February 2009.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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