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* Futures off: Dow 0.02%, S&P 500 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.13%

March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were

subdued on Friday and Wall Street's main indexes were set for

their third week in the red, as a widening conflict in the

Middle East threatened to stoke price pressures and complicate

the Federal Reserve's monetary policymaking.

Investors were also monitoring developments in the private

credit market and awaiting a batch of economic data releases

later in the day.

Crude prices hovered near $100 a barrel as fighting in the

Middle East appeared to be far from being resolved anytime soon

despite the Trump administration's assurances on a swift end to

the conflict.

Efforts such as the International Energy Agency's record

emergency oil releases and the U.S. 30-day license for countries

to buy Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea failed

to bring down the surge in costs.

"Beyond energy, what now concerns economists is the

potential impact on the entire global supply chain, because what

transits through the Strait of Hormuz does not stop at oil: a

significant share of global industrial production indirectly

depends on this corridor," said John Plassard, head of

investment strategy at Cite Gestion.

"In reality, if this situation were to persist, a large part

of the global economy could quickly come under pressure."

Markets will get an insight into the health of the U.S.

economy as the January releases for durable goods and personal

consumption expenditures are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, along with the

second estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product.

Reports on job openings in January and the University of

Michigan's initial estimate on consumer sentiment in March are

also expected at 10 a.m. ET.

Spiking costs have complicated the work of the Federal

Reserve, which also faces a weakening jobs market. Interest-rate

futures and rising short-term Treasury yields suggest hawkish

monetary policy in the months ahead.

The central bank is expected to meet next week and is likely

to leave interest rates unchanged. Traders now see only one

25-basis-point interest rate cut this year, according to

LSEG-compiled data, compared with two before the war began on

February 28.

At 5:19 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 11 points,

or 0.02%, and S&P 500 E-minis were down 3.5 points,

or 0.05%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 31.25 points,

or 0.13%.

Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index

wavered and was last down 0.22 points at 27.05, while futures

tied to the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 index were

slightly lower.

The financials-heavy Dow has been hit the hardest

among peers over the past three weeks, putting it on track for

its biggest monthly losses since December 2024.

Credit quality worries spiked this week after Morgan Stanley ( MS )

halted redemptions from its private credit funds,

following similar actions by BlackRock ( BLK ) and Blue Owl

in recent weeks.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) also restricted lending to private

credit players, while Blackstone faced a surge in

redemptions.

Blue Owl's shares were marginally lower in premarket

trading, while the others were little changed.

Travel stocks, hit the most by the war and higher energy

costs, were marginally lower.

Airlines Alaska and American slipped about

0.4% each, while Carnival and Norwegian Cruise

slipped about 1% each.

Design software maker Adobe fell 9% as longtime CEO

Shantanu Narayen will leave his role once a successor is

appointed, renewing worries around its strategy as it grapples

with AI disruption.

Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne fell 4% after

forecasting quarterly profit below estimates.

Megacap Meta slipped 0.7% as a report said it

postponed the release of its artificial intelligence model

"Avocado" to at least May, from this month.