* Futures up: Dow up 0.59%, S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.14%

each

* Alphabet, Amazon ( AMZN ) rise after strong results

* Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT ) fall on capex concerns

* Eli Lilly ( LLY ) gains after lifting forecast

(Updates prices and details)

By Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi

April 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Thursday, recovering from an earlier bout of caution as

investors weighed strong earnings against renewed inflation

worries sparked by elevated oil prices.

The volatility reflects a market caught between competing

narratives, as investors are torn between strong earnings and

fears of escalation in the Middle East war.

Tech earnings were largely strong, with shares of Google

parent Alphabet rising 6.3% in premarket trading

following a record quarter for its cloud unit, while Amazon ( AMZN )

added 2.5% after exceeding cloud sales expectations.

However, Meta Platforms ( META ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) fell

8.6% and 1.9%, respectively, a day after they laid out

theircapital spending plans.

At 6:55 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 287 points,

or 0.59%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 10 points, or 0.14%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 37 points, or 0.14%.

Investors were also assessing commentary from Federal

Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. The central bank voted

to keep interest rates unchanged, but three officials signaled

that inflation was too high to signal a bias toward rate cuts.

Brent crude futures hit their highest in nearly four

years on fears of a protracted disruption in oil markets, after

an Axios report said President Donald Trump was slated to

receive a briefing from the leader of the U.S. Central Command

on new plans for potential military action against Iran.

Prices retreated later but remain elevated, above $110 a

barrel.

The Axios report undermined weeks of optimism that

diplomatic efforts to resolve the U.S.-Iran war would stay on

track despite setbacks.

"The oil market has moved from over-optimism to the reality

of the supply disruption. The breakdown of talks between the

U.S. and Iran... has the market losing hope for any quick

resumption in oil flows," said Warren Patterson, head of

commodities strategy at ING Economics.

Among other stocks, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) gained 3.1% after the

drugmaker lifted its annual profit forecast on sustained

weight-loss drug demand, and peer Merck ( MRK ) added 5.8%

following higher first-quarter sales.

Caterpillar ( CAT ) shares rose 6% after the construction

and mining equipment maker reported higher first-quarter

profit.

Market sentiment will also hinge on the upcoming

first-quarter GDP report and the Personal Consumption

Expenditures data, scheduled to be released on Thursday.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru;

Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shinjini Ganguli)