* Futures down: Dow 0.13%, S&P 500 0.07%, Nasdaq 0.14%

* US shares of Barrick Mining ( B ) fall as Q2 profit misses

estimates

* US consumer, producer inflation data awaited this week

* Intel ( INTC ) drops after launching $15 billion share sale

* GameStop ( GME ) gains after report of co weighing withdrawal of

eBay ( EBAY ) bid

(Updates before markets open)

By Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on course

for a muted open on Monday, as investors weighed developments in

the Middle East that could influence the reopening of the Strait

of Hormuz and braced for a week laden with crucial inflation

data and earnings.

Iran said it was close to a final agreement with Oman

defining new shipping lanes between them through the strait but

repeated that the U.S. must meet several conditions before the

strategic waterway reopens.

Easing energy flows through the crucial choke point could

mitigate concerns over heightened oil prices that have spurred

inflation concerns and bets of interest rate hikes by central

banks worldwide.

Against this backdrop, readings of consumer and producer

prices due later this week could offer key clues on the Federal

Reserve's monetary policy path, given Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's

stance of offering muted forward guidance.

"The prevailing narrative is that inflation remains ...

high, but is not that far from the Fed's 2% goal. It is not

victory, but it is progress," said Bob Edwards, chief investment

officer, Edwards Asset Management.

Rate-hike bets were tempered on Friday after data showed the

U.S. economy unexpectedly shed jobs in July. Traders now price

in a 44% chance of a rate hike in September, according to the

CME FedWatch tool.

"A benign CPI report and no September rate hike would give

this market permission to run faster," Edwards added.

Comments from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack are

expected later in the day.

At 8:36 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 72 points, or

0.13%, and S&P 500 E-minis were down 5.25 points, or

0.07%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 43 points, or 0.14%.

The benchmark S&P 500 hit a record close on Friday

and the blue-chip Dow touched record highs last week.

The recent run has lifted the S&P 500's yearly gains to over

13%, with solid earnings especially from AI companies offsetting

some concerns about high spending not yielding enough evidence

of paying off.

J.P.Morgan raised its year-end target for the benchmark to

8,000 from 7,800, pointing to robust corporate earnings and

increasing optimism that hyperscalers' AI investments will

accelerate revenue growth.

Of the 436 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported

earnings to date for the June quarter, 85.1% have beaten

estimates, according to LSEG data. The beat-rate stands well

above the 67% seen in a typical quarter since 1994.

The earnings calendar thins out this week, with

semiconductor company Applied Materials ( AMAT ) and networking

equipment maker Cisco ( CSCO ) among the few reporting.

GameStop ( GME ) gained 2.4% in premarket trading after

Bloomberg News reported CEO Ryan Cohen was considering pulling

the company's $56 billion bid for eBay ( EBAY ).

U.S.-listed shares of Barrick Mining ( B ) dropped

5.7% after missing second-quarter profit estimates.

Intel ( INTC ) fell 4.6% after the chipmaker launched a $15

billion stock offering.

Apple ( AAPL ) was down 1.1%, as Jefferies downgraded the

iPhone-maker's stock to "underperform" from "hold".

Separately, the U.S. Senate, led by Republicans, passed a

temporary bill to fund federal agencies through December 11 on

Saturday, averting a crippling shutdown weeks before the

November midterm elections.