* Asset managers drop after Blue Owl caps investor

withdrawal

* Tesla deliveries mark weakest quarter in a year

* Brent settles at $108 per barrel, October contracts at

$82

(Updates to market close)

By Sabrina Valle and Twesha Dikshit

April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended slightly mixed on

Thursday after paring deeper losses, as diplomatic signals from

the Middle East helped calm markets rattled earlier by U.S.

President Donald Trump's threats of tougher action against Iran

ahead of a long holiday weekend.

Investor sentiment steadied in the afternoon after Iran's

foreign ministry said it was drafting a protocol with Oman to

manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and Britain said

dozens of countries were discussing ways to end the crisis,

easing worries about prolonged disruption to global oil flows.

Stocks had opened lower amid rising oil prices after U.S.

President Donald Trump signaled more aggressive attacks, ahead

of the Good Friday holiday, when markets will be closed.

Front-month crude prices surged, with U.S. crude up 11% at

around $111 a barrel. The international reference Brent closed

up about 7% near $108. But traders priced it at about $82 per

barrel in October, a signal that they expect the disruption to

be temporary.

"The (stock) market has no real conviction either way right

now, but October oil prices tell you the market thinks this

crisis will likely be over by the fall," said Michael Antonelli,

market strategist at Baird.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 7.26 points, or 0.11%, to end at 6,582.58 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 35.92 points, or

0.18%, to 21,876.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 61.23 points, or 0.13%, to 46,504.51.

The rebound reflected caution, with investors favoring stock

segments seen as more resilient to economic stress. Utilities,

which tend to offer steady earnings and dividends, rose while

consumer discretionary stocks slid, the worst-performing sector

on the day.

Wall Street had opened sharply lower on Iran, in a sharp

reversal from his earlier comments that the U.S. will be "out of

Iran pretty quickly".

Separately, private credit jitters resurfaced after Blue Owl

capped the amount investors can withdraw from two of its

retail-focused funds.

On the S&P 500, consumer discretionary shares

weighed the most, led by a drop in Tesla after its

first-quarter delivery figures.

Further developments on Elon Musk's SpaceX will be in focus

after it confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering

on Wednesday, and is expected to target a $1.75 trillion

valuation.

Friday's nonfarm-payroll numbers will be in the spotlight

after weekly jobless claims fell last week, but U.S. markets

will remain closed throughout the long weekend.

Globalstar's ( GSAT ) shares jumped after a report said

Amazon is in talks to buy the low-earth-orbit communication

satellites company.