US STOCKS-US stock futures fall as Israel's attack on Iran hurts risk appetite

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dropped on Friday after Israel's military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities escalated tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and battered risk sentiment across global markets.

Israel has warned that the widescale strikes were the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran has promised a harsh response.

An escalation in the conflict can "drag the U.S. into it, in which case, we would expect that global oil and gas supply will be disrupted for longer," analysts at Panmure Liberum said in a note.

Oil prices surged nearly 9% and U.S. energy stocks rose in tandem, with Chevron CVX.N and Exxon XOM.N advancing 3.1% and 3.5% in premarket trading.

Washington said it had no part in the operation, but President Donald Trump suggested Iran had brought the attack on itself by resisting U.S. demands to restrict its nuclear programme. Officials from both countries were due to meet in Oman on Sunday for a planned sixth round of nuclear talks.

Trump also urged Iran to make a deal, saying "the next already planned attacks" will be "even more brutal".

At 07:06 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were down 430 points, or 1%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 55.25 points, or 0.91%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 245 points, or 1.12%.

A 1.5% slump in Russell futures RTYcv1 pointed to sharp declines for domestically focused stocks, while the Cboe Volatility Index .VIX, known as Wall Street's "fear gauge", rose to its highest in three weeks earlier in the session.

Airline stocks dipped as the surge in crude prices raised concerns about higher fuel costs. Delta Air Lines DAL.N was down 3.8%, United Airlines UAL.O dropped 4.7%, Southwest Airlines LUV.N lost 2.5% and American Airlines AAL.O declined 3.9%.

Defense stocks rose, with Lockheed Martin LMT.N up 4.2%, RTX Corporation RTX.N up 5.6%, Northrop Grumman NOC.N up 4.6% and L3harris Technologies LHX.N up 4.9%.

U.S.-listed shares of gold miners also rose, after bullion prices hit a near two-month high with investors rushing to safe-haven assets. Newmont NEM.N gained 1.1%, Harmony Gold HMY.N was up 1.2% and AngloGold Ashanti AU.N rose 1.5%.

The S&P 500 .SPX still remains just 1.8% below its record high reached earlier this year, following stellar monthly gains in May driven by upbeat corporate earnings and a softening in Trump's trade stance.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC is about 2.8% off its record closing high reached in December last year.

A tame consumer price report on Wednesday, softer-than-expected producer price data and largely unchanged initial jobless claims on Thursday helped reduce investor jitters around tariff-driven price pressures. However, policymakers are widely expected to keep rates unchanged next week.

A preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for June, measured by the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, is due at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Among other movers, Adobe ADBE.O fell 3.4% despite the Photoshop maker raising its full-year results forecast.