* Japan plant radiation, Libya violence add to volatility
* US Feb pending home sales, personal income data on tap
* Telecom shares rise on analyst upgrades
* Futures up: Dow 21 pts, S&P 2.8 pt, Nasdaq 8 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
(Adds quote, updates prices)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, building on three sessions of gains, though developments in Japan and Libya remained in view, suggesting further volatility ahead.
Reports of soaring radiation levels at a damaged nuclear
plant in Japan renewed worries over the country's reactors
after an earthquake and tsunami, though Nikkei futures
In the Middle East and North Africa, violence spread as rebels in Libya pushed west over the weekend to retake a series of towns from the forces of Muammar Gaddafi. In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad deployed the army in the country's main port of Latakia for the first time after nearly two weeks of protests spread across the country. [ID:nLDE72Q0C3]
The issues surrounding Japan's nuclear disaster and civil unrest have pressured markets in recent weeks, and while much of those losses have been recouped, the volume of trade has been limited as investors continue to watch headlines closely for trading cues.
"Those issues are still lingering with the market, though I don't think as much attention is being paid as two weeks ago," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. "There's more confidence now that we've recovered from the drop we saw on the news."
Market participants are also looking ahead to February personal income and consumption data, due at 8:30 a.m. [1330 GMT]. Income is seen rising 0.4 percent while consumption is seen rising 0.6 percent.
S&P 500 futures
Robert W. Baird upgraded a number of telecom companies to
"outperform," including Dow components AT&T Inc
U.S.-listed shares of Nokia Corp
Eastman Kodak Co
U.S. pending home sales for February, due from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m., are seen falling by 1 percent after a string of weaker-than-expected data for the battered housing sector.
A strong forecast from Oracle Corp