(Adds Singapore policy change, China stocks)

* Nikkei, Nasdaq futures firm as Brent slides 4%

* Iran says will halt attacks as long as US does

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

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, July 27 (Reuters) - Share markets gave a guarded

response on Monday as a pause in fighting in the Gulf dragged

oil prices lower, easing inflation risks and boosting bonds

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.

Yet, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis had still attacked Saudi oil

installations along the Red Sea coast, threatening another

waterway vital to the global oil trade.

"Net, it looks as if developments in the Middle East have

moved in a positive direction over the weekend, adding some

credibility to the notion that oil above $100 a barrel seems to

induce de-escalatory behaviour from both sides," said Sally

Auld, group chief economist at NAB.

The lull in fighting over the Strait of Hormuz saw Brent

crude slide 5.2% to $91.73 a barrel, while U.S. crude

dropped 5.4% to $84.45.

The pullback in oil provided some relief from inflation

fears and led markets to slightly pare the probability of rate

hikes from the Federal Reserve.

The central bank meets 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 a move.

"Investors see the outcome of the July meeting as unusually

uncertain, likely because the Fed has been split recently,

Warsh's own position remains unclear, and some of the

re-escalation with Iran occurred during the blackout period,"

noted analysts at Goldman Sachs.

"There will likely be at least one dissent in favour of a

hike, but most voters appear unlikely to push for a move this

week after the softer June inflation data."

The Bank of England holds its meeting on Thursday and the Bank

of Japan on Friday, and both are expected to hold steady while

remaining cautious about inflation risks ahead.

TECH EARNINGS TO TEST BULLS

Equities took comfort in the drop in oil and yields, sending

S&P 500 futures up 0.7%, while Nasdaq futures

jumped 1.1%. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained

0.4%, while DAX futures rose 0.6% and FTSE futures

went flat.

Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.1%, while South Korea's chip-heavy

index eased 1.1%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific

shares outside Japan held steady.

Chinese blue chips firmed 0.4% as chipmaker CXMT Corp

surged 470% 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 on 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 on the day.

The massive sums involved were underlined by a WSJ 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 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 Q2 GDP where growth is

seen picking 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, Q2 employment cost index and July

Michigan consumer sentiment round out the diary.

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

economic sentiment, consumer confidence, flash inflation and

June unemployment.

The pullback in oil helped 10-year Treasury yields

fall 4 basis points to 4.63%, and nudged the dollar

broadly lower. The euro added 0.3% to $1.1408, while

the dollar dipped 0.2% on the yen to 163.54.

The Singapore dollar nudged up after the country's

central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy by allowing

a slightly faster appreciation in the currency.

In commodity markets, the drop in yields helped

non-interest-paying gold climb 1.3% to $4,103 an ounce.