Stock futures signal firm Wall Street start

(Reuters) - Dow Jones futures traded 0.7 percent higher by 5:45 a.m. EDT on Monday while S&P 500 futures rose 1.1 percent and Nasdaq futures gained 0.6 percent, pointing to a higher opening on Wall Street.

Eyes on financials after last week's upbeat statements from JPMorgan Chase , Citigroup and Bank of America , and after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks on Sunday that the U.S. recession could last most of the year and that the biggest risk was that the political will needed to fix the fractured financial system could be lacking.

Key economic data include the New York Fed's Empire State Manufacturing Survey for March at 8:30 a.m. EDT, February industrial production and capacity utilization at 9:15 a.m. EDT, and the NAHB March Housing Market Index at 1 p.m. EDT.

No S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report results.

Asian shares rallied overnight and European stock markets were up around 2 percent in Monday morning trade, led by financials.

(Reporting by Peter Starck; editing by Simon Jessop)