* Indexes up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.24%

* Fed expected to keep rates unchanged amid energy cost

concerns

* Financials gain 0.8%, rebounding from prior losses

* Oil price-sensitive airlines see stock gains as Delta

and American raise revenue guidance

(Updates prices throughout, analyst comments)

By Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi

March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes

edged higher on Tuesday, as investors awaited the Federal

Reserve's decision on interest rates in the face of rising

energy costs due to the raging Middle East conflict.

Fuel-cost sensitive airlines and travel stocks that have faced

the brunt of the sell-off got some relief after carriers Delta

and American raised their revenue guidance for

the current quarter. Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) gained more than 4%, and

American Airlines rose 2.7%.

Other travel stocks such as Norwegian Cruise added

2.4% and Expedia ( EXPE ) gained 6%.

"The consumer and market are not as worried about inflation

right now as they were maybe a week ago. I think we're starting

to see the forest through the trees where this war is not going

to last forever," said Dennis Dick, founder at Triple D

Trading.

Still, concerns of prolonged supply disruptions due to the

effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route have

kept crude prices at $100 a barrel. Those concerns, along with

tariff-induced price increases, will be the main focus of the

Fed meeting as policymakers weigh inflation concerns against

signs of a weakening jobs market.

The central bank starts its two-day monetary policy meeting

on Tuesday and traders expect borrowing costs to be left

unchanged in its decision on Wednesday. Rate futures suggest

just one 25-basis-point cut towards the end of the year,

according to LSEG-compiled data, down from around two before the

war.

Brokerages lifted their outlooks for energy prices that are

likely to dampen economic growth, a factor that the Australian

central bank also flagged when it hiked interest rates earlier

in the day.

The rate-sensitive financials index gained 0.8%,

rebounding from sharp losses in the week before, when worries

about private credit quality rattled investors.

Asset managers Blackstone and Apollo Global

gained over 3% and KKR gained nearly 3%.

At 12:07 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 72.20 points, or 0.15%, to 47,021.88, the S&P 500

gained 14.91 points, or 0.22%, to 6,714.29 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 53.68 points, or 0.24%, to 22,427.86.

Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index,

dropped 0.62 points to 22.89 to briefly hit a more than one-week

low.

Energy company Occidental gained 1.3% along with

peer EQT, while ConocoPhillips ( COP ) rose nearly 2%

tracking higher crude and gas prices.

Despite the global turmoil in markets due to the war, U.S.

stocks have held up better than those in Europe and Asia on

expectations that the repercussions on the economy will be less

severe.

However, analysts have underscored that investors are yet to

fully consider the effects of the war on the global economy.

Honeywell International ( HON ) slipped 2.1% after the

industrial giant said the conflict could impact its

first-quarter revenue, weeks after oilfield services company SLB

flagged an earnings squeeze.

The conflict has also delayed a planned summit between the U.S.

and China's leaders on President Trump's request.

Among others, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) lost 5.2% after brokerage

HSBC downgraded the drugmaker to "reduce" from "hold".

Ride-hailing app Uber ( UBER ) added 5.1% after announcing plans

to roll out robotaxis in 28 cities starting next year, powered

by Nvidia's autonomous driving software.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.67-to-1 ratio on

the NYSE and by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and two new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 97 new lows.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru;

Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Devika Syamnath)