Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Monday after AIG said it would sell its life insurance unit in Asia and deal looked near for a European Union bailout of Greece.

American International Group Inc shares jumped 14.4 percent to $28.34 in premarket trade after Britain's Prudential plc

agreed to acquire AIG's insurance arm AIA Group for $35.5 billion.

Also helping to boost futures were signs that Athens might be nearing a deal with European Union governments to take more budget steps in exchange for some form of emergency aid for Greece.

There was good news released out of the European Union about a plan for Greece, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills in New York.

Obviously a bailout will help stabilize the country, although clearly they need to work toward a balanced budget by increasing revenue or cutting spending.

Government data showed U.S. consumer spending increased slightly faster than expected in January as consumers dipped into their savings amid a small rise in incomes.

The spending and income data was a non-event, said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. It was pretty much as expected, though personal income was a little off, he said.

At 10 a.m., the Institute for Supply Management releases its February manufacturing index, expected to dip to a reading of 57.5, according to a Reuters estimate, and the Commerce Department releases January construction spending figures.

S&P 500 futures rose 4.1 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 30 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 5.5 points.

U.S. stocks in February had their best monthly advance since November as Friday data showed the economy grew a tad better than expected in the fourth quarter.

On Monday, Millipore Corp surged 11.3 percent to $105.05 in premarket after Germany's Merck KGaA on Sunday said it agreed to buy the U.S. biotech tool maker for about $6 billion in cash.

Mining stocks rose, with Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc up 2 percent to $76.65 after Chile, the world's top copper producer, suffered a massive earthquake over the weekend.

El Paso Corp gained 5.4 percent to $11.03 in premarket after the natural gas and pipeline producer reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street expectations and boosted its production forecast for the year.

But Intrepid Potash Inc shares slipped 2.6 percent to $26.80 after the fertilizer maker reported fourth-quarter earnings slumped 70 percent on pricing that nearly halved from the prior year, but said it expects improved sales volume in 2010.

(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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