(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock index futures rose in Asia on Monday as investors focused on the prospects for an expansion of economic stimulus to help counter the impact of the spreading global pandemic.

September contracts on the S&P 500 rose 0.9% as of 11:12 a.m. in Tokyo, after an advance of 4.1% last week. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index added 1.2%. U.S. financial markets were closed on Friday before Independence Day on July 4.

“Asia markets look set for mixed moves going into the fresh week with concerns still centered on the continued Covid-19 spread, all weighed against the continued data optimism,” Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia, wrote in a note. “With U.S. states continuing to post record cases into the July 4 weekend and the World Health Organization likewise having reported a one-day high in global infections over the weekend, the battle between the Covid-19 drag and improving economic conditions continues.”

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased by almost 56,000 on Sunday, a 2% rise that outpaced the 1.8% average daily increase over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University.

June employment data came in stronger than forecast on Thursday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists revised down their estimates for the U.S. economy this quarter, but predicted it will be back on track in September after some states imposed fresh restrictions to combat the coronavirus. Congress is set to resume talks on the next stimulus bill later this month.

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