* US stock futures firm as Brent slides 6%

* Iran says it will halt attacks as long as US does

* Yields, dollar dip as market pares chance of Fed hike

(Updates with European pricing, adds quote)

By Wayne Cole and Sruthi Shankar

July 27 (Reuters) - Global stock markets climbed on Monday

as easing Middle East hostilities sent oil prices sharply lower

and eased inflation worries ahead of a packed week of central

bank meetings and earnings reports.

Iran said on Sunday it would halt its own attacks as long as

the United States did the same, with the U.S. military

reportedly concerned about dwindling supplies of ammunition. The

lull in fighting over the Strait of Hormuz saw Brent

crude slide 6.3% to $90.70 a barrel, while U.S. crude

dropped 5.7% to $84.12.

Stock markets across the globe staged a relief rally on

Monday after intense fighting in the Middle East over the past

week pushed oil prices to above $100 a barrel.

Europe's STOXX 600 climbed nearly 0.5%, at one

point, touching its highest since July 7. Economically sensitive

retail and travel stocks rallied more than 2% although a drop in

oil stocks weighed on the broader market.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.9%, while Nasdaq futures

jumped 1.5%. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific

shares outside Japan rose 0.3%.

The euro edged up 0.23% to $1.1395. Most major

currencies also advanced against the dollar, as traders slightly

pared back the probability of rate hikes from the Federal

Reserve this week.

The U.S. central bank's decision is due on Wednesday and

markets imply around a one-in-three chance of a rate rise,

though most analysts doubt Chair Kevin Warsh would be in favour

of such a move.

"A rate hike this week would send (a) powerful signal at the

start of his term that he is serious about improving the Fed's

inflation fighting credibility. However, we are not convinced

that he wants to back up his tough talk on inflation with policy

action as soon as this week," Lee Hardman, a senior currency

analyst at MUFG said in a note.

"If inflation risks do not ease over the summer, a September

rate hike would become more likely."

The Bank of England will announce its policy decision on

Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday, and both are expected

to hold steady, while remaining cautious about inflation risks

ahead.

The dollar dipped 0.2% against the yen to 163.53.

TECH EARNINGS TO TEST BULLS

Chinese blue chips gained 1.2% as chipmaker CXMT

Corp surged nearly 500% in its Shanghai trading

debut after raising $8.6 billion in Asia's biggest initial

public offering this year.

About one-third of S&P 500 companies are due to report this

week, with earnings on track to boast a 26.5% increase over last

year, according to LSEG IBES data.

With expectations so high and mounting unease over the vast

cost of AI capex, even blockbuster results may not be enough to

please investors.

The massive sums involved were underlined by a Wall Street

Journal report that Nvidia ( NVDA ) was in talks to provide a

roughly $250-billion backstop for OpenAI as part of a data

center project.

Companies reporting this week include tech darlings

Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta Platforms ( META ), Amazon ( AMZN ),

Apple ( AAPL ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM ), along with a host of

industrial, defence and healthcare stocks.

Data highlights include U.S. advance second-quarter GDP with

growth expected to pick up to an annualised 1.5% after a soft

start to the year. The June PCE price index, personal income and

consumption, weekly jobless claims, second quarter employment

cost index and July Michigan consumer sentiment round out the

week's diary.

The euro zone's schedule includes flash Q2 GDP, July

economic sentiment, consumer confidence, flash inflation and

June unemployment.

The Ifo Institute's survey on Monday showed German business

morale grew more than expected in July thanks to significantly

improved expectations.

The pullback in oil helped 10-year Treasury yields

fall 3.8 basis points to 4.64%.

In commodity markets, the drop in yields helped

non-interest-paying gold climb 0.92% to $4,090.45 an ounce

.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole and Sruthi Shankar; Editing by Stephen

Coates, Sam Holmes and Mrigank Dhaniwala)