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* Futures: Dow down 0.04%, S&P 500 up 0.14%, Nasdaq up 0.4%

Aug 10 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures inched higher

on Monday as investors weighed developments in the Middle East

that could influence the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,

kicking off the week laden with crucial inflation data and

earnings.

Iran said it was close to a final agreement with Oman

defining new shipping lanes between them through the strait but

repeated that the U.S. must meet several conditions before the

strategic waterway is reopened.

The easing of energy flows through the crucial choke point

could mitigate concerns over heightened oil prices that have

spurred inflation concerns and chances of interest rate hikes by

central banks around the world.

Against this backdrop, readings of consumer and producer

prices due later this week could be key to garnering clues on

the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path, given Fed Chair

Kevin Warsh's stance of offering muted forward guidance.

"Attention this week will be firmly on July US CPI, which

could go a long way towards tipping the balance for September

FOMC pricing," analysts at Deutsche Bank Research said in a

note.

Near-term interest rate-hike bets, however, tempered on

Friday after data showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly shed jobs

in July. Traders currently are pricing in a 44% chance of a rate

hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Comments from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack are

expected later in the day, along with a retail sales reading on

Friday.

At 5:37 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 20 points, or

0.04%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 11.25 points, or

0.14%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 118.5 points, or 0.4%.

The benchmark S&P 500 hit a record close on Friday

and the blue-chip Dow touched record highs last week as

easing rate-hike concerns, upbeat earnings and optimism over a

deal to end the Iran conflict lifted sentiment.

The recent run has lifted the S&P 500's yearly gains to over

13%, with solid earnings especially from AI companies offsetting

some concerns about high spending not yielding enough evidence

of paying off.

J.P.Morgan raised its year-end target for the benchmark to

8,000 from 7,800, pointing to robust corporate earnings and

increasing optimism that hyperscalers' AI investments will

accelerate revenue growth.

Of the 436 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported

earnings to date for the June quarter, 85.1% have beaten

analysts' expectations, according to LSEG data. The beat-rate

stands well above the 67% seen in a typical quarter since 1994.

The earnings calendar thins out this week, with

semiconductor company Applied Materials ( AMAT ), networking

equipment maker Cisco ( CSCO ) and cloud infrastructure

technology company CoreWeave ( CRWV ) among the few reporting.

Among early movers, Elon Musk's SpaceX climbed

3.3%, building on a 22.8% jump clocked last week.

Megacap and growth stocks were mostly higher. Tesla

led gains with a 1.1% rise.

Separately, the U.S. Senate led by Republicans passed a

temporary bill to fund federal agencies through December 11 on

Saturday, averting a crippling shutdown weeks before the

November midterm elections.