Stock index futures rise along with commodities

(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday , with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.32 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.56 percent at 0917 GMT.

On the earnings front, investors awaited results from AES Corp <AES.N>, Sempra Energy <SRE.N>, SYSCO Corp <SYY.N> and Tyson Foods <TSN.N>.

Oil futures rose 3 percent to above $100 a barrel, helped by bargain hunting from traders and investors after last week's sharp drop. <O/R>

European stocks were down in morning trade as the return of fears over the region's debt crisis sparked a sell-off in the euro zone peripheral stock markets such as Madrid's IBEX <.IBEX>, down 1.8 percent. <.EU>

Investors were rattled by rumors that debt-stricken Greece could leave the euro zone, rumors denied on Saturday by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

The euro bounced back against the dollar as some sovereign investors viewed its selloff late last week on concerns about Greek debt as overdone given still favorable interest rate differentials, although technical indicators suggest gains could be temporary.

Tokyo stocks fell for a second straight session on Monday, dragged down by a plunge in Chubu Electric <9502.T> after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for the closure of its nuclear plant due to worries that a large earthquake could trigger another nuclear crisis. <.T>

Apple <AAPL.O> has overtaken Google <GOOG.O> as the world's most valuable brand, ending a four-year reign by the Internet search leader, according to a new study by global brands agency Millward Brown.

An unexpectedly strong report on U.S. payrolls helped equities bounce back on Friday from four days of losses, tempering worries that stocks could suffer the sharp declines seen this week in commodities.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 54.64 points, or 0.43 percent, to 12,638.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> added 5.10 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,340.20. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> rose 12.84 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,827.56. For the week the Dow lost 1.3 percent, the S&P fell 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6 percent.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)