* Futures down: Dow 0.73%, S&P 500 0.50%, Nasdaq 0.48%

* Tesla, IBM ( IBM ) and Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) down after earnings

* Texas Instruments ( TXN ) and Dow gain after results

(Updates prices)

By Niket Nishant and Avinash P

April 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures slipped early

on Thursday, with investors hesitant to extend the recent

equities rally in the absence of clear signals on the U.S.-Iran

war, while a batch of mixed earnings further dented sentiment.

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and demanded

that the U.S. lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports, which

remains in effect even after President Donald Trump extended the

ceasefire indefinitely.

Investors keen to look past war-related risks have shown

strong resilience in recent days, but some fatigue has set in,

leading to brief episodes of risk aversion, as they await more

clarity on how and when the conflict may ultimately be resolved.

With oil prices over $100 a barrel, the risk of an inflation

flare-up also remains.

"Even in the event that the Middle East conflict eases and

shipping resumes as usual through the Strait of Hormuz, it would

likely take time for the global economy to normalize after one

of the largest oil supply disruptions in decades," said PIMCO

economist Tiffany Wilding.

At 6:44 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 364 points,

or 0.73%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 35.75 points, or

0.50%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 130.5 points, or

0.48%.

PACKED EARNINGS CALENDAR IN FOCUS

The earnings season has been largely strong so far, but

because the results reflect only one month of disruption from

the Middle East conflict, investors are questioning how

dependable they are as a gauge of what lies ahead.

Tesla shares fell 3.5% in the premarket session,

after the company raised its spending plan to more than $25

billion for the year.

It is in the middle of one of the most expensive bets in its

history as CEO Elon Musk channels funds into artificial

intelligence, robotics and chips.

"With all the focus on the war, a forgotten theme that

weighed on the market at the start of the year is artificial

intelligence overinvestment and diminishing future returns,"

said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst for

Capital.com.

IBM ( IBM ) fell 7% after revenue growth slowed in the first

quarter on weakness in its software business.

Peers Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Adobe declined 1.9%

and 2.2%, respectively, before the bell.

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) dropped 4.8% after reporting a lower

first-quarter profit.

Industrial conglomerate Honeywell International ( HON )

slipped 7.7% and medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher

also fell 4.7% after reporting first-quarter earnings.

On the flip side, Texas Instruments ( TXN ) rose 11.8% after

forecasting second-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street

expectations, and chemicals maker Dow added 3.5% after

reporting a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss.

American Airlines ( AAL ), American Express ( AXP ), and

Comcast ( CMCSA ) are among the other companies due to report on

Thursday amid a plethora of earnings.

U.S. ​weekly initial jobless claims and manufacturing

activity data scheduled to be released later on Thursday will

also be scrutinized for clues on the impact of higher energy

prices due to the war.

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

by Devika Syamnath and Shinjini Ganguli)