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Futures up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 500 0.4%, Nasdaq 0.5%

June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged

higher on Monday as easing oil prices helped calm sentiment

despite ongoing attacks between Iran and Israel and increased

focus on the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

Wall Street indexes shed more than 1% on Friday as oil

prices surged 7% after Israel and Iran traded air strikes,

feeding investor worries that the combat could widely disrupt

oil exports from the Middle East.

The dangers of further escalation loomed over a meeting of

the Group of Seven leaders in Canada, with U.S. President Donald

Trump expressing hope on Sunday that a deal could be done, but

no signs of the fighting abating on the fourth day of war.

Crude prices , however, pulled back slightly

from January highs, offering some respite to investors worried

about a resurgence in inflation.

The surge in oil prices comes ahead of the Fed's monetary

policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are widely

expected to keep interest rates unchanged.

Investors will focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments

as well as the central bank's updated projections for monetary

policy and the economy for clues on potential rate cuts later

this year.

Money market moves show traders are pricing in about 48

basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 55% chance

of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's

Fedwatch tool.

"We expect the median participant to take on a more

stagflationary flavor following April's tariff surprises,

despite eased financial conditions from the weaker dollar, with

higher inflation and downgraded GDP growth in 2025," Barclays

strategists said in a note.

"The dot plot is likely to show delayed rate cuts, with just

one this year and three in 2026."

Key data this week includes monthly retail sales and import

prices.

By 5:38 a.m. ET (0938 GMT), S&P 500 E-minis were up

23.75 points, or 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis rose 99

points, or 0.46%, and Dow E-minis added 143 points, or

0.34%.

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics ( SRPT ) plunged 30% in

premarket trading after the company disclosed a second case of

patient death due to acute liver failure after receiving its

gene therapy for a rare form of muscular dystrophy.

U.S. Steel rose 5% after Trump approved Nippon Steel's ( NISTF )

$14.9 billion bid for the company.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)