US STOCKS-US stock futures little changed as strong quarter nears end

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* Futures up: Dow 0.13%, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 0.04% each

June 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures were largely unchanged early on Tuesday, as investors took a breather in the final trading session of a quarter that saw equities post the biggest gains in years.

A slew of economic data, including the JOLTS job openings report and the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, would be in focus later in the day.

Equities have held up despite a tense geopolitical backdrop, an oil price shock and concerns about AI spending.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes were on course for their best quarter in six years, while the blue-chip Dow was set for its best quarterly gain since 2022.

Some analysts are pinning their hopes on the upcoming earnings season to boost stocks, especially after the punishing selloff last week in semiconductors and tech shares.

"Technology has been experiencing a period of June gloom, but that could easily reverse as earnings season approaches," said Brian Levitt, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

However, others warn that for a meaningful gain in the second half of the year, negotiations to end the U.S.-Iran conflict will need to produce a breakthrough.

Traders are pricing in at least one rate hike by the Federal Reserve by the end of 2026, according to data compiled by LSEG. They will watch out for Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's comments at a high-profile economic conference in Portugal later on Tuesday.

At 5:49 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 68 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis rose 3.25 points, or 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 12 points, or 0.04%.

"Whether the price action is noise or signal will become clearer in the coming days -- perhaps weeks -- and will depend on a balance of geopolitical risks, U.S. rate uncertainty, and the earnings outlook," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

In the premarket session, shares of customer experience ?firm Concentrix (CNXC) dropped 23.7% after the company lowered its annual revenue and adjusted profit forecasts.

AeroVironment (AVAV) gained 20.8% following a jump in quarterly revenue. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)