Stock index futures signal early gains

Wall Street was indicated to open higher on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.33 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.29 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.48 percent at 0721 GMT.

Asian and European shares started the second quarter with gains after surprisingly firm China manufacturing data eased worries of a hard landing, though continuing signs the world's second biggest economy was losing steam put a cap on gains.

Data on Sunday showed China's official Purchasing Managers' Index, which covers large factories, jumped to an 11-month high of 53.1 in March, beating forecasts.

The oil sector will be in the spotlight on Monday, with French oil major Total preparing to fly experts to a North Sea oil platform to plan how to cap a well that has been spewing gas for the past week.

Argentina's government has made the decision to take control of leading energy company YPF , which is controlled by Spain's Repsol , and is discussing whether to renationalize it or intervene in its administration, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

A Brazilian prosecutor requested an injunction this week barring U.S. oil company Chevron and drill-rig operator Transocean from operating in Brazil as part of a record $10.9 billion environmental lawsuit over a November oil spill.

On the macro front, investors will be watching the U.S. Institute for Supply Management's March manufacturing index, due at 1400 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 53.0 versus 52.4 in February. The market also awaited construction spending for February, due at 1400 GMT.

Visa Inc has dropped payment processor Global Payments Inc from its list of approved service providers after a major cyber intrusion that could expose Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover card holders to fraud. Global Payments said it believes fewer than 1.5 million credit card numbers were stolen in the cyber security breach.

On the M&A front, DBS Group Holdings , Southeast Asia's biggest bank, has agreed to pay $7.24 billion for Indonesia's Bank Danamon , offering a 52 percent premium for the middle-ranking lender. The takeover, Asia's fourth-largest financial services deal, would make Singapore-based DBS the fifth-biggest lender in Indonesia, one of the region's hottest markets where bank penetration is low and annual loan growth runs at 20 percent.

U.S. stocks closed their strongest quarter in more than two years on a positive note on Friday, led by recently underperforming sectors, including energy and health care.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 66.22 points, or 0.50 percent, to 13,212.04 at the close. The S&P 500 Index <.SPX> gained 5.19 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,408.47. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dipped 3.79 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,091.57.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by John Stonestreet)