(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)

*

Futures down: Dow 0.88%, S&P 500 0.8%, Nasdaq 1.07%

*

Airline stocks slide as Israel strikes Iran

*

US defense firms rise on Israel-Iran conflict

(Updates before markets open)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

June 13 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on

track to open lower on Friday after Israel's deadly strike on

Iranian nuclear facilities inflamed tensions in the oil-rich

Middle East and battered risk sentiment across global markets.

Israel has warned that the widescale strikes were the start

of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an

atomic weapon. Iran has promised a harsh response.

Oil prices surged nearly 9% on fears the conflict could

disrupt crude supply from the Middle East. U.S. energy stocks

rose in tandem, with Chevron ( CVX ) up 2.7% and Exxon

advancing 3.3% in premarket trading.

Airline stocks also dropped as fuel costs could surge if

supply bottlenecks materialize. Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) was down

5.2%, United Airlines dropped 5.3%, Southwest Airlines ( LUV )

lost 3.4% and American Airlines ( AAL ) declined 4.8%.

On the other hand, defense stocks climbed, with Lockheed

Martin ( LMT ) up 3.1%, RTX Corporation ( RTX ) up 3.9%,

Northrop Grumman ( NOC ) up 3.8% and L3harris Technologies ( LHX )

up 2.8%.

"We have major domestic policy uncertainty and now on top of

that, you have geopolitical unrest, which not only is impacting

oil markets, but the broader risk premium," said Eric Teal,

chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management.

Washington said it had no part in the operation, but

President Donald Trump suggested Iran had brought the attack on

itself by resisting U.S. demands to restrict its nuclear

programme. Officials from both countries were due to meet in

Oman on Sunday for a planned sixth round of nuclear talks.

Trump also urged Iran to make a deal, saying "the next

already planned attacks" will be "even more brutal".

At 08:37 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 378 points,

or 0.88%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 48.25 points, or

0.8%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 234.5 points, or

1.07%.

U.S.-listed shares of gold miners rose as the Israel-Iran

conflict sent investors rushing to safe-haven assets, lifting

bullion prices to a near two-month high. Newmont ( NEM ) gained

1.2%, Harmony Gold was up 0.7% and AngloGold Ashanti ( AU )

rose 1.6%.

The S&P 500 still remains just 1.6% below its record

high reached earlier this year, following stellar monthly gains

in May driven by upbeat corporate earnings and a softening in

Trump's trade stance.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is about 2.5% off its record

closing high reached in December last year.

A tame consumer price report, softer-than-expected producer

price data and largely unchanged initial jobless claims earlier

this week helped calm investor jitters around tariff-driven

price pressures. However, Federal Reserve policymakers are

widely expected to keep rates unchanged at their meeting next

week.

A preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for June,

measured by the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, is

due at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Among other movers, Adobe fell nearly 4% despite

the Photoshop maker raising its full-year results forecast.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)