* Stocks ease as oil prices climb

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

* Texas Instruments ( TXN ) gains after results

* Indexes off: Dow 0.48%, S&P 500 0.49%, Nasdaq 0.95%

(Updates to afternoon New York trading)

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Niket Nishant

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell in

choppy trading on Thursday, buffeted by the latest updates about

the war in Iran, while investors grappled with a mixed bag of

earnings reports as concerns resurfaced about AI-driven

disruption across the software sector.

Equities had been holding near unchanged after Iran

tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran released

footage of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship they claimed

to have seized, while demanding the U.S. lift its naval blockade

on Iranian ports.

Stocks weakened after reports that Iran's Parliament Speaker

Mohammad ⁠Bagher Ghalibaf had resigned from the negotiating

team. Losses were extended as oil prices shot higher after

reports of air attacks in Iran.

"We're playing musical chairs between earnings season and

these war headlines that are not likely to be that great," said

Jay Hatfield, CEO and CIO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors in

New York.

"We had a big run, and there are people looking to take some

exposure off, and using the war as an excuse is not a bad

excuse."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 236.19 points,

or 0.48%, to 49,253.84, the S&P 500 lost 34.91 points, or

0.49%, to 7,102.99 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 235.26

points, or 0.95%, to 24,422.31.

Markets had rallied in recent weeks on hopes a resolution to

the Iran war was on the horizon, along with expectations of

solid corporate earnings.

But gains have been harder to come by this week. On Monday,

the Nasdaq snapped a 13-session streak of gains as optimism

faded for a resolution to the war.

Oil prices holding near $100 a barrel also kept fears of

rising inflation in focus.

Data on Thursday showed weekly initial jobless claims

increased only marginally last week, but risks from higher

prices due to the war could hamper the economy.

S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which

tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased this

month after almost stagnating in March, but the improvement was

largely due to what it said was "stock building in the face of

concerns over supply availability and price hikes."

PACKED EARNINGS CALENDAR IN FOCUS

The earnings season has been largely strong so far, with the

82.1% of the 123 companies that have reported earnings through

Thursday morning topping analyst expectations, according to

Tajinder Dhillon, head of earnings research at LSEG. The

earnings growth rate of 15.6% is up from the 14.4% at the start

of the month.

The S&P 500 tech index was the worst performing of

the 11 major S&P sectors, weighed down in part by a drop of

about 8% in IBM ( IBM ) after revenue growth slowed in the first

quarter on weakness in its software business.

Also weighing on the sector was a plunge of about 17% in

ServiceNow ( NOW ) after it reported quarterly results and said

revenue growth was dented by delays in closing government deals

in the Middle East.

The results reawakened concerns that the software sector's

traditional business models could be upended by new AI tools.

Tesla shares fell 3.3% after the company raised its

spending plan to more than $25 billion for the year.

Car-rental company Avis Budget's ( CAR ) shares slumped

about 50% and were on course for their steepest two-day drop

ever, after an eye-watering rally that was reminiscent of the

"meme-stock" craze.

On the flip side, Texas Instruments ( TXN ) surged 18.2%

after forecasting second-quarter revenue and profit above Wall

Street expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.5-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.31-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and eight new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 120 new highs and 96 new

lows.