* Futures up: Dow 0.51%, S&P 500 0.91% Nasdaq 1.28%

* Comcast ( CMCSA ) shares rise after spin-off announcement

* RBC Capital raises its 12-month target for S&P 500

(Updates prices)

By Niket Nishant and Avinash P

June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday,

led by strong gains in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, as easing

tensions in the Middle East lifted sentiment, while Comcast ( CMCSA )

shares soared on plans to split into two companies.

A U.S. official said on Sunday that the United States and

Iran will de-escalate following days of hostilities, bolstering

hopes that an interim peace deal signed earlier this month could

hold.

While diplomatic efforts to put an end to the conflict have

calmed investors, caustic rhetoric and occasional flare-ups in

the region have at times raised the risk of a broader escalation

that could push oil prices higher.

"Predictably, the overtures made by the U.S. and Iran have

reversed significantly just before market open once again, with

both sides suggesting they'll wind down strikes ahead of the

next round of talks," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market

analyst at Capital.com.

"Such overt efforts to lower oil prices and boost stocks by

the Trump administration are supporting hopes that it'll do

whatever is necessary to get a deal done."

At 07:03 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 67

points, or 0.91%, and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up

375.5 points, or 1.28%.

Dow E-minis were up 265 points, or 0.51%. The

blue-chip index held up better than the other Wall Street

benchmarks last week, gaining 0.6%.

Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets raised its 12-month target

for the S&P 500 index to 8,150 from 7,900, citing

earnings strength and favorable market conditions as factors

likely to push U.S. equities higher.

AI WORRIES COMPLICATE OUTLOOK

Concerns about AI spending have injected an additional dose

of uncertainty into the market. A selloff last week punished

investor favorites such as semiconductors and the so-called

Magnificent Seven.

Apple's ( AAPL ) shares were underperforming their

Magnificent Seven peers in premarket trading on Monday,

following a 4.8% drop last week.

The company raised iPad and MacBook prices on Thursday,

saying it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory

and storage chip ​costs driven by the AI industry's data center

buildout.

"If consumer demand softens in response, the volumes

underpinning record chip margins look increasingly fragile --

feeding back into earnings growth skepticism," said Fabien Yip,

market analyst at IG.

Traders are also expecting at least one rate hike by the

Federal Reserve this year to keep inflation under control. They

would likely reassess those bets later this week, when the U.S.

releases the jobs data for June.

In the premarket session, Comcast ( CMCSA ) gained 19.6%

after the media and cable provider said it plans to separate

into two independent publicly traded companies through a

tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky.

SpaceX also rose 2.1% after Nasdaq said the newly

listed company will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7.

Shares of Viridian Therapeutics ( VRDN ) jumped 14.5% after

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug to treat

patients with thyroid eye disease.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing

by Shinjini Ganguli)