US STOCKS-Futures gain on China data; Syria concerns remain

* China exports top expectations

* Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC - news) to buy Sinclair Knight

* Smithfield cleared for acquisition

* Futures up: Dow 3.3 pts, S&P 32 pts, Nasdaq 14 pts

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures advanced on Monday in the wake of upbeat economic data from China, though concerns remained about the possibility of a Western strike against Syria.

China, the world's second-biggest economy, reported its exports had grown by 7.2 percent in August, beating market expectations for a 6 percent increase, while consumer inflation held steady in August.

"The news out of China continues to get better, inflation basically in line with expectations - in fact, a little bit better - and trade data over the weekend was better," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

"The major focus is going to be the debate on a strike against Syria in Congress, so the market will stay within a very contained trading range for most of the day as the geopolitical headlines continue to keep investors rather cautious."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied that he was behind a chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians, as the White House pressed ahead Sunday with the uphill effort of persuading Congress to approve a military strike to punish Assad. The Obama administration faces a test vote Wednesday in the U.S. Senate.

Assad has warned against possible reprisal attacks if the U.S. attacks Syria, saying that if there were military strikes, Americans can "expect every action."

The S&P 500 has risen for four straight sessions and is up 16 percent for the year, largely driven by the $85-billion monthly bond purchases of the Fed, aimed at stimulating the economy.

Economists at a majority of U.S. primary dealers expect the Fed to announce at a policy meeting in less than two weeks that it will pare back its bond purchases soon, according to a Reuters poll.

S&P 500 futures rose 3.3 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 (DJI: ^DJI - news) industrial average futures gained 32 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 14 points.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, one of the world's largest construction consulting firms, said Sunday it would buy Australia's Sinclair Knight Merz for about A$1.3 billion ($1.2 billion) in cash.

The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment has cleared the way for Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd's proposed $4.7 billion acquisition of Smithfield Foods Inc (NYSE: SFD - news) , the companies said late Friday.

Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc (Stuttgart: 881866 - news) jumped 9.2 percent in premarket trading after the company said it had reached a collaboration with Biogen Idec Inc (NasdaqGS: BIIB - news) on treatments for neurological disorders.

Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL - news) will join the S&P 500 index after the close of trading Sept. 10, replacing BMC Software (NasdaqGS: BMC - news) . Delta shares rose 4.6 percent to $20.80 in premarket trading.

European shares fell as disruptions to business in the Middle East hurt oil firm BG Group (LSE: BG.L - news) and the threat of a spike in crude prices fueled profit taking on construction firm Bouygues (Other OTC: BOUYF - news) .

The Chinese trade and inflation data lifted Chinese shares to three-month highs and boosted regional shares, while Japanese shares rallied after Tokyo won its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.