* Indexes down: Dow 0.13%, S&P 500 0.07%, Nasdaq 0.23%

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

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

eBay ( EBAY ) bid

(Updates for market open)

By Avinash P and Purvi Agarwal

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes inched lower

on Monday after the S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs last

week, as investors weighed Middle East developments and awaited

crucial inflation data and earnings.

Iran said it was close to a final agreement with Oman

defining new shipping lanes between them, 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 worries and betson interest rate hikes by central

banks worldwide.

Consumer and producer inflation readings 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," said Bob

Edwards, chief investment officer, Edwards Asset Management.

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

this market permission to run faster."

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.

In the market, six of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower,

with real estate and consumer staples stocks

the biggest weights.

The S&P 500 information technology index lost

0.4%. Apple ( AAPL ) declined 2.4% following a stock downgrade

by Jefferies, while Intel ( INTC ) dropped 4.8% after launching

a $15 billion stock offering.

On the flip side, the S&P 500 energy index jumped

2.6%, tracking a 2% gain in oil prices.

At 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 72.88 points, or 0.13%, to 53,964.05, the S&P 500

lost 5.22 points, or 0.07%, to 7,752.42 and the Nasdaq Composite

lost 61.56 points, or 0.23%, to 26,629.06.

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

and the blue-chip Dow touched all-time highs last week,

as solid earnings, especially from AI companies, offset some

concerns about high spending not yielding enough evidence of

paying off.

Against that backdrop, J.P.Morgan raised its year-end target

for the benchmark to 8,000 from 7,800.

A total of 85.1% of the 436 companies in the S&P 500 that

have reported earnings to date for the June quarter have beaten

estimates, more than the 67% seen in a typical quarter since

1994, according to LSEG data.

The earnings calendar thins out this week, with

semiconductor company Applied Materials ( AMAT ) and networking

equipment maker Cisco ( CSCO ) among the few reporting.

Among others, eBay ( EBAY ) fell 3.9% after Bloomberg News

reported that GameStop ( GME ) CEO Ryan Cohen was considering

pulling the company's $56 billion bid.

Comments from Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack are

expected later in the day.

Separately, the U.S. Senate passed a temporary bill to fund

federal agencies through December 11 on Saturday, averting a

crippling shutdown weeks before the November midterm elections.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.5-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.26-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted nine new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 40 new highs and 23 new

lows.