U.S. stock index futures inched up on Monday, ahead of a crucial deadline on tariffs on top trade partners and a data-packed week that could throw light on the health of the world's largest economy. At 05:50 a.

It’s a new month, and a new optimism is pushing up stocks in early trading after a rather dour February. The S&P 500 finished lower in February, as it has done for six of the past 10 years. It’s still up about 1.

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a higher open on Monday, ahead of a crucial deadline on tariffs on top trade partners, while investors awaited a number of data reports to gauge the health of the world's largest economy.