NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a nearly 1 percent gain at the open on Tuesday as rising commodity prices fueled hopes the economy is strengthening, while a brokerage upgrade boosted General Electric.
* Kraft Foods Inc fell 4.5 percent to $26.84 in premarket trading after its 10.2 billion pound ($16.7 billion) bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc was rejected. Kraft, North America's biggest food group, said it intended to pursue Cadbury.
* Natural resource shares could see a boost as the price of spot gold rose above $1,000 an ounce to its highest level since March 2008, and the dollar extended losses against the euro, traders said.
* Energy shares could also benefit as the price of oil topped $69 a barrel ahead of an OPEC meeting.
* Shares of General Electric Co gained 4 percent to $14.43 premarket after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral."
* S&P 500 futures rose 12 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 92 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 15.75 points.
* Asian markets rose, with China's benchmark Shanghai Composite closing 1.7 percent higher after a senior official said China's economy is seeing more signs of economic strength. U.S. markets have taken a cue from Chinese stocks after a recent correction in Shanghai stocks raised concerns a selloff could spill over to Wall Street.
* U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday as investors focused on the bright side of a mixed payrolls report that showed smaller-than-expected job cuts in August, although the unemployment rate hit a 26-year high. U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the U.S. Labor Day holiday.