US STOCKS-Futures rise after 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 25 pts, Nasdaq 11.75 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 a potential strike against Syria.

* China 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.

* 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 set for Wednesday in the U.S. Senate.

* 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 pare back its bond purchases, 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 25 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 11.75 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.

* 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) , Standard & Poor's said on Friday. 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) .

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