Updates before market open

By Ragini Mathur and Avinash P

July 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on track to open higher on Thursday, as gains in chip stocks helped offset renewed geopolitical jitters after fresh exchange of attacks threatened to prolong the U.S.-Iran conflict and keep markets volatile.

The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had launched new strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. Iran responded with attacks on U.S. assets in Kuwait and Bahrain.

President Donald Trump, who had warned that the interim ceasefire was "over," also eased some of the market's fears and said he did not expect a return to full-fledged war despite the breakdown.

Chip stocks provided support to futures, continuing their rebound from the previous session. The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX.O gained 4.4% in premarket trading.

Still, sentiment toward AI-linked stocks has come under pressure in recent sessions amid concerns about the durability of a rally that has helped drive Wall Street gains this year, while Middle East tensions simmered in the background.

"We've had a very strong first half in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, primarily driven by memory-storage providers," said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at iFOREX.

"There are concerns about their ability to continue generating the record levels of revenues and profits they're currently producing and when you throw in a breakdown of the ceasefire in the Middle East, you've got a toxic combination."

IBM IBM.N and Microsoft MSFT.O fell 4.5% and 1.5%, respectively. A report said Starbucks SBUX.O had tapped AI to reduce its reliance on both companies.

Other software shares also slipped, with ServiceNow NOW.N and Adobe ADBE.O down 4.3% and 3.5%, respectively.

Meta Platforms META.O fell 4% after Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported that the company plans to make an artificial intelligence chip from September.

At 8:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 21 points, or 0.04%, and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 17 points, or 0.22%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 268.5 points, or 0.91%.

The renewed tensions between U.S. and Iran forced stock investors to reassess recent optimism that an eventual resolution could support risk assets. The S&P 500 .SPX and Dow .DJI ended Wednesday's session lower, while the Nasdaq .IXIC eked out a marginal gain.

On the data front, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market remained stable despite a slowdown in job growth in June.

Under new Chair Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its June meeting, but minutes released on Wednesday showed a few policymakers saw a case for raising borrowing costs before ultimately agreeing to hold steady.

Traders are pricing in at least one 25-basis-point rate hike by the end of the year, according to LSEG data.

Levi Strauss LEVI.N slipped 4%, even after the denim maker raised its annual sales forecast, while PepsiCo PEP.O fell 2% despite the snacks and soda giant beating second-quarter revenue estimates.