US STOCKS-Wall Street futures dip as Mideast conflict continues

• Futures down: Dow 0.52%, S&P 500 0.51%, Nasdaq 0.55%
• May retail sales data due at 8:30 a.m. ET
• Eli Lilly to acquire Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 bln

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on Tuesday as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, dampening global investor confidence ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision.

Iran and Israel's air war, which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, has raised concerns that the conflict could create bottlenecks for oil exports from the oil-rich Middle East.

U.S. energy stocks rose in premarket trading as oil prices remained elevated on the uncertainty. Chevron CVX.N and Exxon XOM.N edged up 0.7% each, while Occidental Petroleum OXY.N advanced 1%, and Devon Energy DVN.N gained 1.4%.

The surge in oil prices comes ahead of the Fed's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged.

Money market moves show traders are pricing in about 49 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 59% chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

At 7:04 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were down 221 points, or 0.52%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 30.75 points, or 0.51%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 120 points, or 0.55%.

Key data for the day includes monthly retail sales and import prices scheduled at 8:30 a.m. ET.

U.S. Senate Republicans late on Monday unveiled proposed changes to President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill that had cleared the House of Representatives in May.

"The Senate's version of tax legislation looks broadly similar to the House-passed version in its near-term fiscal effects but would likely cost ... a few hundred billion dollars more over the next decade," said Goldman Sachs strategists in a note.

Solar stocks dipped after the Senate's changes to Trump's tax-cut bill revealed a phase-out of solar, wind and energy tax credits by 2028.

Shares of Enphase Energy ENPH.O, which makes solar inverters, dropped 16.8%. Solar panel sellers Sunrun RUN.O fell 28.3% and SolarEdge Technologies SEDG.O dropped 21.2%. First Solar FSLR.O lost nearly 12%.

Shares of nuclear power companies rose after the Senate extended credits for nuclear energy to 2036. Oklo OKLO.N was up 2.8% and Nano Nuclear Energy NNE.O rose 2.6%.

As investors flock to traditional safe-haven assets amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, a rise in U.S. Treasuries pushed yields lower across the curve. Yields on the benchmark 10-year US10YT=RR fell about 4 basis points to 4.41%.

Among other movers, Eli Lilly LLY.N edged down 0.9% after it agreed to acquire Verve Therapeutics VERV.O for up to $1.3 billion. Shares of Verve surged 77.1%.

T-Mobile TMUS.O fell 4.8% after Japan's SoftBank 9984.T raised $4.8 billion from a sale of 21.5 million of the wireless carrier's shares at $224 each, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters.