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* Futures down: Dow 0.58%, S&P 500 0.52%, Nasdaq 0.57%

April 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures slipped early

on Thursday, with investors hesitant to extend the recent

equities rally in the absence of clearer signals on the

U.S.-Iran war.

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and demanded

that the U.S. lift its naval blockade, which remains in effect

even after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire

indefinitely.

Investors keen to look past war-related risks have shown

strong resilience in recent days, but some fatigue has set in,

leading to brief episodes of risk aversion as they await a

clearer sense of how the conflict may ultimately be resolved.

With oil prices over $100 a barrel, the risk of an inflation

flare-up also remains.

"Even in the event that the Middle East conflict eases and

shipping resumes as usual through the Strait of Hormuz, it would

likely take time for the global economy to normalize after one

of the largest oil supply disruptions in decades," said PIMCO

economist Tiffany Wilding.

At 4:56 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis fell 289 points, or

0.58%, S&P 500 E-minis slipped 37.5 points, or 0.52%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 153.5 points, or 0.57%.

PACKED EARNINGS CALENDAR IN FOCUS

The earnings season has been largely strong so far, but

because the results reflect only one month of disruption from

the Middle East conflict, investors are questioning how

dependable they are as a gauge of what lies ahead.

Tesla shares fell 2.9% in the premarket session,

after it raised its spending plan to more than $25 billion for

the year.

The company is in the middle of one of the most expensive

bets in its history as CEO Elon Musk channels funds into

artificial intelligence, robotics and chips.

"With all the focus on the war, a forgotten theme that

weighed on the market at the start of the year is artificial

intelligence overinvestment and diminishing future returns,"

said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst for

Capital.com.

IBM ( IBM ) fell 7.3% after revenue growth slowed in the

first quarter on weakness in its software business. Texas

Instruments ( TXN ) rose 10.3% after forecasting second-quarter

revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations.

Honeywell ( HON ) was up marginally ahead of results, while

chemicals maker Dow fell 2.8%.

American Airlines ( AAL ), American Express ( AXP ) and

Comcast ( CMCSA ) are among the other companies due to report on

Thursday amid a crowded earnings slate.

U.S. ​weekly initial jobless claims and manufacturing

activity data scheduled to be released later on Thursday will

also be scrutinized for clues on the impact of higher energy

prices due to the war.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)