Wall Street futures hold steady with earnings in focus

By Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi

April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, as investors assessed developments in the Middle East and a raft of corporate earnings while looking ahead for remarks from Federal Reserve officials.

Equities have found support this week on hopes that Washington and Tehran could return to the negotiating table to end the war, even as the U.S. military maintains a blockade of Iranian ports.

The resilience suggests that war-weary investors are ready to rotate into risk assets at the slightest indication of a de-escalation.

The benchmark S&P 500 index is nearing its first intraday record high since the conflict erupted.

At 06:53 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 42?points, or?0.09%,?S&P 500 E-minis were?down 5?points, or 0.07%,?while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 22.75?points, or?0.09%.

BANK RESULTS IN SPOTLIGHT

Another packed day for corporate earnings will be in focus as investors look for signs of how companies are navigating the impact of the war.

Bank of America shares rose 1.2% in premarket trading, after the second-biggest U.S. lender reported growth in its first-quarter profit as volatility in global markets lifted trading activity.

Wall Street heavyweight Morgan Stanley's shares also added 1.2% after it reported a jump in first-quarter profit.

So far this week, banks have said U.S. consumers are financially healthy and that pipelines for initial public offerings and deals should remain robust unless the conflict drags on for much longer.

Some analysts, however, have warned that as stocks climb, they may become more vulnerable to sharp reversals if developments in the Middle East do not match the optimistic assumptions many are pricing in.

"U.S. equities appear to be looking through risks still being priced in commodity markets," BofA Global Research analysts wrote.

"With the ceasefire appearing fragile and signs of stress in commodity markets still evident, the equity retracement appears to be looking through the risks of re-escalation."

Oil prices gained slightly on Wednesday, remaining?31% above pre-war levels.

The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth on Tuesday, citing the war-driven energy price spikes, and warned that an extended conflict could push the world to the brink of a recession.

Traders will also tune in to the remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle ?Bowman later in the day.

Among other stock movers, Nike rose 2.2% after CEO Elliott Hill bought additional stock in the company.

Broadcom advanced 2.8% after Meta extended its custom chips deal with the firm.

Social media company Snap's shares rose nearly 7% after it said it would lay off about 1,000 employees.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Shilpi Majumdar)