* AI optimism and strong tech forecasts drive global

stock rally

* Oil slips, but Middle East tensions persist

* Euro zone core inflation rises, ECB rate hike expected

(Updates prices)

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Global stocks rallied on

Tuesday, buoyed by fresh AI optimism after Anthropic moved

towards a U.S. stock market listing, while oil prices and bond

yields fell on renewed hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal.

Brent crude futures dropped more than 1% below $94 a

barrel, paring the previous session's sharp gains, after U.S.

President Donald Trump said talks with Iran continued.

His comments came despite a report that Tehran had suspended

indirect negotiations with Washington to end hostilities,

keeping investors cautious about efforts to end the three-month

war and underlining the fragility of an ongoing ceasefire.

Europe's STOXX 600 was up 0.7% by midday, as a strong

forecast from chipmaker STMicroelectronics lifted

technology stocks.

AI ENTHUSIASM

Anthropic said on Monday it had confidentially filed for a U.S.

initial public offering, edging ahead of rival OpenAI in a

closely watched race to reach public markets. Google parent

Alphabet is also seeking to raise $80 billion in

equity to fund the expansion of its AI infrastructure.

"This speaks to the huge sums involved in keeping pace in

the AI arms race. It represents a significant shift from a

period of bumper free cash flow to going cap in hand to the

markets to help fund its expansion," Russ Mould, investment

director at AJ Bell, said.

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management on

Monday said U.S. manufacturing PMI rose to 54.0 in May from 52.7

the previous month, beating expectations to hit a four-year

high, likely driven by firms front-loading orders amid rising

prices and supply concerns linked to the Iran war.

Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were down

around 0.1% to 0.2%, pointing to a slightly weaker open after

both indexes posted an eighth straight gain and fresh record

highs on Monday .

"That marks the first time in a year the S&P has achieved

eight consecutive daily gains. And if you look at the moves on a

weekly basis, a positive gain this week would be the S&P's 10th

consecutive advance, which is something we haven't seen since

1985," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.

In Taipei, Nvidia ( NVDA ) CEO Jensen Huang said the company had

enough supply to support strong growth in central processing

units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), but

acknowledged supply constraints remained a concern.

South Korean equities were volatile, with the benchmark

KOSPI swinging sharply lower after hitting a record high as

bellwethers, such as Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) and SK

Hynix, seesawed.

In currency markets, the dollar edged slightly lower. The euro

, still 1.5% below its level at the start of the war, was

last up 0.1% on the day at $1.1646.

Data showed euro zone core inflation at 2.5% year-on-year in

May, above expectations of 2.4% and April's 2.1%. Money markets

price in a quarter-point European Central Bank rate hike this

month, with at least one more by year-end.

In bonds, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 5 basis

points to 4.429%, while Germany's 10-year Bund yield dropped 6

bps to 2.953%.

Gold rose 1% to $4,527 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter in Singapore.

Editing by Stephen Coates, Mark Potter and Tomasz Janowski)