U.S. stock index futures gained, pointing to a firmer start for Wall Street on Monday. Futures for the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.4 to 0.6 percent by 4.09 a.m. ET.

The Commerce Department is set to release February personal income and consumption data at 8.30 a.m. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 0.1 percent rise in income and a 0.3 percent increase in spending. In January, income rose 0.1 percent and spending was up 0.5 percent.

Hynix Semiconductor <000660.KS>, the world's second-biggest memory chip maker, said on Monday that global memory chip supply remained very tight and stronger than expected market conditions would continue into the second quarter.

Dallas Fed issues March Texas Manufacturing Index. In February the index read -0.1.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is not yet on board with Washington Mutual Inc's bankruptcy reorganization plan, including a massive tax refund to JPMorgan Chase & Co , according to the company and a Wall Street Journal report.

It looks like some U.S. customers who preorder Apple Inc's new iPad tablet computer now may have to wait a bit longer to get the device, as the company appears to be having a hard time keeping up with demand.

Boeing Co completes ultimate-load wing test on its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China's largest private-run car maker, agreed on Sunday to buy Ford Motor's Volvo Swedish car business for $1.8 billion.

Citigroup Inc has expanded its budding hedge fund servicing team in London and New York by hiring 13 new employees, the Financial Times said.

SunPower Corp said it has finalized the acquisition of SunRay.

General Growth Properties Inc is getting closer to filing a bankruptcy exit plan, with its board planning to meet on Monday to give final approval to the proposal, sources familiar with the matter said.

The dollar lost ground to the Australian and New Zealand dollars in choppy trade driven largely by order-book cleaning ahead of the quarter-end.

European shares rose, boosted by mining stocks and the banking sector <.EU>. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei <.N225> dipped 0.1 percent, backing off an 18-month high hit last week as shares with high dividend yields such as Eisai <4523.T> fell after going ex-dividend <.T>.

The Dow and S&P ended flat on Friday, giving back earlier gains after the sinking of a South Korean naval ship, while tech shares' weakness kept the Nasdaq in slightly negative territory.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 9.15 points, or 0.08 percent, to end at 10,850.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> inched up just 0.86 point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,166.59. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slipped 2.28 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 2,395.13.

(Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

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