* Indexes up: Dow 0.68%, S&P 500 0.54%, Nasdaq 0.54%

* Fed expected to keep rates unchanged amid energy cost

concerns

* Financials lead S&P 500 gains, rebounding from prior

losses

* Oil price-sensitive airlines see stock gains as Delta

raises revenue guidance

(Updates after market open, adds details, prices throughout)

By Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi

March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes

rose onTuesday, led by gains in financial stocks, as investors

awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates in the

face of rising energy costs due to the raging Middle East

conflict.

The central bank starts its two-day monetary policy meeting on

Tuesday and traders expect borrowing costs to be left unchanged

when it announces its decision on Wednesday.

Rising oil and natural gas costs stemming from the conflict in

the Middle East, along with tariff-induced price increases, will

be the main focus of the meeting as policymakers weigh inflation

concerns against signs of a weakening jobs market.

Brokerages lifted their outlooks for energy prices that are

likely to dampen economic growth, a factor that the Australian

central bank also flagged when it hiked interest rates earlier

in the day.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell's outlook on interest rates will be

scrutinized on Wednesday, at a time when rate futures suggest

just one 25-basis-point cut towards the end of the year,

according to LSEG-compiled data, down from around two before the

war.

"There are too many moving parts in a regular economy and

then on top of it, we have this tremendously impactful conflict,

which will make it even more impossible for the Fed to discern

any patterns right now," said Peter Andersen, founder of

Andersen Capital Management.

"I would expect the Fed to stay on hold and to have a very

unremarkable transcript and press conference."

Leading gains among the S&P 500 sectors was the

rate-sensitive financials index as big banks Morgan

Stanley ( MS ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS ) gained more than 2%,

while asset managers Apollo Global and KKR

gained more than 4% each.

Financial stocks were rebounding from sharp losses in the

week before, when worries about private credit quality rattled

investors.

At 10:12 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 321.19 points, or 0.68%, to 47,267.60, the S&P 500

gained 36.45 points, or 0.54%, to 6,735.83 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 120.48 points, or 0.54%, to 22,494.66.

Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index,

dropped 1.1 points to 22.41, while the rate-sensitive Russell

2000 index gained 1%.

Oil price-sensitive airlines that have faced the brunt of the

selloff since the war started got some reprieve after Delta

raised its revenue guidance for the current quarter on

accelerated demand. The carrier's shares gained 5% and American

added 4.4%.

Energy company Occidental gained 1% along with peers

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) and EQT, tracking higher crude

and gas prices.

Despite the global turmoil in markets due to the war, U.S.

stocks have held up better than those in Europe and Asia on

expectations that the repercussions on the economy will be less

severe.

However, analysts have underscored that investors are yet to

fully consider the effects of the war on the global economy.

Honeywell International ( HON ) slipped 0.3% after the

industrial giant said the conflict could impact its

first-quarter revenue, weeks after oilfield services company SLB

flagged an earnings squeeze.

The conflict has also delayed a planned summit between the U.S.

and China's leaders on President Trump's request.

Among others, ride-hailing app Uber ( UBER ) added 5.6% after

announcing plans to roll out robotaxis in 28 cities starting

next year, powered by Nvidia's autonomous driving software.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.77-to-1 ratio on

the NYSE and by a 2.48-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and one new low while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 60 new lows.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru;

Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Devika Syamnath)