US pre-open: Investors keen to take risks

US futures surged on Monday as oil prices rose and investors were keen to take some risks, though the dollar rose to a seven-year high against the pound on 'Brexit' fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was set to open up 182 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were expected to start the session 21 and 50 points higher respectively.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January will be released at 1330 GMT, while Markit’s release of the Purchasing Managers Index survey for the Manufacturing sector is due at 1445 GMT.

European stocks also rose on Monday, with basic resources and energy issues pacing the advance as oil prices rallied.

West Texas Intermediate was up 3.88% to $30.79 a barrel, while Brent was further ahead on $34.21 a barrel - up 3.64%.

The dollar surged 2.33% against the pound as London mayor and Conservative Party leadership hopeful Boris Johnson announced he will back the UK leaving the EU.

It was also up against 0.99% against the euro and 0.50% against the yen, while spot gold dropped 1.64% to $1,206.65.

Change at the top in China

Elsewhere, China led gains across much of Asia on Monday, with news from Beijing that the country's embattled securities chief was being replaced.

Official media revealed over the weekend that Liu Shiyu, a veteran of the People's Bank of China, was to replace Xiao Gang as head of the country's stock regulator.

The replacement of Xiao was being seen by analysts as a positive for markets in the short term, so long as it brought with it further overhauls to the country's tightly-controlled financial system.

Xiao had come under heavy press fire in the last year for his policies and decisions, particularly the 'circuit breaker' which he personally championed as a method to stem volatility but which ended up backfiring.

"A key personnel change at the helm of the securities regulator has given some belief that change and reform will be good, potentially one day even helping to attract overseas capital," said IG strategist Chris Weston.

In company news, HSBC shares listed in the US were down nearly 4% before the bell after the UK-headquartered bank missed full year profit consensus forecasts by 8%, and was even further away from fourth quarter targets.

Allergan shares are set to jump after the pharmaceutical company reported net revenue from continuing operations increased 74% to $4.2bn for the quarter ended December 31 2015.