* Futures up: Dow 0.73%, S&P 500 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.56%

* McCormick ( MKC ) gains after Unilever ( UL ) nears deal to merge food

business

* JOLTS data, Fed speakers on deck later in the day

(Updates with prices, analyst comment)

By Purvi Agarwal and Twesha Dikshit

March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures gained on

Tuesday, as markets welcomed a report signaling potential

de-escalation in the Middle East conflict that has set the S&P

500 and the Dow on course for their biggest monthly decline in

years.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday U.S. President

Donald Trump told aides he was willing to end the military

campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained

largely closed.

The report soothed some investor nerves after a month-long

conflict that has battered global markets and left the S&P 500

and the Dow on track for their largest monthly falls since

September 2022. The benchmark S&P 500 was also headed for its

worst quarter since 2022.

Oil prices were volatile on Tuesday, but were headed for a

record monthly gain. The S&P 500 energy index has gained

more than 11% so far in March, the only sector set to end the

month in positive territory.

Last week, the Dow and the Nasdaq ended 10% below their

record high closes, confirming a correction. The small-cap

Russell 2000 confirmed it earlier this month.

"If the disruption persists, feeding through into higher

costs, tighter financial conditions, and weaker growth, the

market risks transitioning from a technical reset into a more

prolonged adjustment," said Tom Nelson, head of market

strategyat Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions.

At 06:54 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 333 points, or

0.73%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 43.25 points, or 0.68%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 129.75 points, or 0.56%.

Investors will also watch out for the job openings and labor

turnover survey (JOLTS) data for February, the first of the

labor market reports due in the holiday-shortened week.

Comments from Fed policymakers, including Austan Goolsbee

and Michelle Bowman, will also be parsed for any clues on the

Federal Reserve's monetary policy path after Chair Jerome Powell

said on Monday the Fed can wait to assess the impact from the

war.

The oil spike stemming from the Iran conflict has revived

inflation worries, prompting money market participants to price

out any easing from the Fed this year, compared with two cuts

expected before the war broke out, per CME Group's FedWatch

Tool.

Isabella Mateos Y Lago, an economist at BNP Paribas, said

investors were not expecting the war to cause meaningful damage

to growth, with many analysts sticking to their pre-war end-2026

U.S. index targets, and making little downgrades to earnings

forecasts, as cash holdings remained below Trump's tariff

announcement levels.

Among premarket movers, McCormick ( MKC ) shares gained 4.8%

after Unilever ( UL ) said it was in advanced talks to combine

its food business with the spice maker.

Constellation Energy ( CEG ) dipped 1.9% after forecasting

2026 profit below Wall Street expectations.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru;

Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Devika Syamnath)