* Futures down: Dow 0.43%, S&P 500 0.40%, Nasdaq 0.42%

* Jefferies gains on report Japan's SMFG plans possible

takeover

* Barclays raises year-end target for S&P 500 to 7,650

from 7,400

* Ares Management ( ARES ), Apollo Global limit redemptions at

funds

(Updates before markets open)

By Purvi Agarwal and Twesha Dikshit

March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to

a lower open on Tuesday as renewed doubts over easing Middle

East tensions tempered the previous session's relief rally

despite President Donald Trump's decision to delay strikes on

Iran's power grid.

Trump postponed his decision, citing "productive talks" with

Iranian officials on Monday, butTehran has said no negotiations

with the U.S. have taken place. Israeli officials said Trump

wants a deal with Iran, but any talks were unlikely to be

successful at this point.

Investors took comfort from Trump's comments, sending Wall

Street's main indexes rallying to more than 1% on Monday, in

their biggest one-day rise since February 6. But the momentum

lost steam as uncertainty over the conflict lingered.

"It's like whiplash. You kind of wake up every morning and

wonder what it's going to be next ... Investors are still facing

a pretty wide range of outcomes with this and a lot of it

depends on time frame," said Christopher O'Keefe, managing

director and lead portfolio manager at Logan Capital Management.

Meanwhile, concerns around private credit resurfaced after a

report said Ares Management ( ARES ) limited redemptions at 5%

at its private credit fund, and so did Apollo Global Management ( APO )

on Monday, as withdrawal requests surged. Ares and

Apollo shares fell 4.3% and 3.6%, respectively.

The companies' decisions mirror those of BlackRock ( BLK )

and Morgan Stanley ( MS ) earlier this month.

Peers Blackstone and Blue Owl Capital slipped

about 2% each, while KKR lost 3.1%.

At 8:36 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 198 points,

or 0.43%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 26.25 points, or

0.4% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 103.25 points, or

0.42%.

The conflict in the Middle East has driven oil prices

sharply higher, reviving inflation jitters and complicating the

interest rate outlook for central banks. The U.S. Federal

Reserve struck a hawkish tone last week, projecting only one

reduction in 2026.

Money markets are no longer pricing in any rate cuts this

year, compared with two reductions expected before the Middle

East conflict erupted. Expectations for hikes nudged higher amid

escalating tensions last week, but were quickly unwound after

Trump's comments on Monday, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

Last week, all three main U.S. indexes logged their fourth

weekly decline, with the Nasdaq marking its biggest weekly drop

since early February.

On the data front on Tuesday, investors will watch a flash

estimate of S&P Global's gauge of business activity in March,

alongside comments from Fed Governor Michael Barr.

Among individual movers, shares of Jefferies gained

8.3% in premarket trading after the Financial Times reported

that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( SMFG ) is working

on plans for a possible takeover of the investment bank.

Shares of Smithfield Foods ( SFD ) rose 5.9% as the U.S.

pork processor beat analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter sales

and profit.

Dexcom ( DXCM ) gained 2.2% as Evercore ISI upgraded its

rating to "outperform" from "in line".

Barclays lifted its 2026 year-end target for the S&P 500

index on Tuesday to 7,650 from 7,400, citing stronger

earnings expectations that outweigh macro risks like Middle East

tensions, AI-driven disruption and stress in private credit.