U.S. stock index futures pointed to a nearly 1 percent rise at the open on Monday after comments by a Fed official reassured investors the government is committed to helping the economy recover from a deep recession.

On Sunday, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said the central bank should extend its mortgage-related assets purchase program to give policy-makers more flexibility as they help the recovery.

Bullard reaffirms the idea that the Fed won't raise rates for a while, said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York. The market loves that.

Boockvar added that his comments were the catalyst for a sell-off in the U.S. dollar index <.DXY>, which fell 0.8 percent Monday, lifting commodities.

January crude futures jumped 1.5 percent to $78.59 per barrel, lifting Dow component Exxon Mobil Corp 1 percent to $75.08 in premarket trading. U.S.-listed shares of BP Plc were up nearly 1 percent at $58.28.

U.S. gold futures rose above $1,160 an ounce at the open in New York trading, near a record high $1,167.80 set earlier.

S&P 500 futures rose 10.6 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 gained 90 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 15 points.

According to a survey released on Monday, the National Association for Business Economists boosted its forecast for economic growth over the next year, though it also said the jobless rate would remain high.

Shares of Dow component Hewlett-Packard Co rose 1.5 percent to $50.80 premarket, ahead of the release of quarterly results that are due after the market closes.

Tyson Foods Inc reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations, lifting the stock nearly 2 percent to $13.30 before the bell.

Monday's economic data will include October existing home sales, due at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).

Ciena Corp was down 5.1 percent to $12.50 premarket after it agreed to buy Nortel Networks Corp's optical networking and carrier ethernet unit.

U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare reform plan cleared an important Senate hurdle over the weekend, though lawmakers warned of challenges ahead in winning support for passage, even among Obama's fellow Democrats.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc gained 3.1 percent to $53.75 premarket, while drugmaker Pfizer Inc

edged up nearly 1 percent to $18.49.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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