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* Futures up: Dow 0.85%, S&P 500 0.87%, Nasdaq 1.49%

July 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock index futures

rose on Monday as the United States and Iran announced a pause

in hostilities over the weekend, sending oil prices sharply

lower.

A wide swathe of stocks sensitive to energy prices rose in

premarket trading. Airlines including Delta and American

were among the top gainers, rising 2.6% and 3%,

respectively. Cruise operators Royal Caribbean and

Carnival rose 3.2% each.

A 6.3% slide in Brent Crude prices to $90.6 a barrel

weighed on shares of energy companies such as Occidental

Petroleum ( OXY ) and Exxon Mobil. They were down 3.8%

and 2.6%, respectively.

Markets ended last week rattled by escalating Middle East

tensions, with investors worried the conflict could fuel further

price pressures ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy

decision later this week.

Despite the announcement of the pause in attacks, shipping

through the crucial Strait of Hormuz remained low. Attacks by

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi oil installations along

the Red Sea coast, another waterway vital to the global oil

trade, also kept traders on edge.

The Fed has offered few clues on monetary policy outlook

since Kevin Warsh took over as chair, fueling uncertainty over

the path ahead for interest rates.

Investors are pricing in at least 25 basis points worth of

rate hikes this year, with a 31% chance it could come as early

as this week, LSEG-compiled data showed.

At 04:25 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 443 points,

or 0.85%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 65 points,

or 0.87%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 421.75 points,

or 1.49%.

Futures tracking the interest-rate sensitive Russell 2000

small-cap index rose 1.2%, while the CBOE Volatility

index dipped about 0.87 points to 17.7.

Earnings from several 'Magnificent Seven' companies

including Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Meta

and Apple ( AAPL ) are due this week and will test the AI trade

further.

Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Meta were up over 1% each, while

Apple ( AAPL ) edged up 0.3%. Chip stocks Marvell Technology ( MRVL )

gained 3.5%, Micron added 3.2% and industry leader Nvidia ( NVDA )

rose 1.2%.

Negative cash-flow reports from Alphabet and Tesla

last week added to concerns about debt-fueled corporate

spending on developing the technology.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 8% from its record

high, while earlier this month the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor

Index confirmed it has been in "bear market" territory

since late June.

An index closing 10% below its most recent record high is

called a technical correction, while a 20% drop is referred to

as a bear market.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by

Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)