1x Msft Share News (MSFT)

* Microsoft, Intel up after positive brokeragerecommendations

* Boeing, Caterpillar surge amid easing trade war fears

* Wall St coming off its worst week in over two years

* Futures up: Dow 320 pts, S&P 35.25 pts, Nasdaq 110.75 pts(Adds comment, details, updates prices)

By Sruthi Shankar

March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock market futures were up morethan 1 percent on Monday, boosted by reports that the UnitedStates and China were willing to negotiate tariffs and tradeimbalances to avert a trade war.

The United States asked China in a letter last week to slashtariffs on U.S. autos, buy more U.S.-made semiconductors andgive U.S. firms greater access to the Chinese financial sector,the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Premier Li Keqiang said Monday China would treat foreign anddomestic firms equally, not force foreign firms to transfertechnology and would strengthen intellectual property rights,repeating promises that have failed to placate Washington.

Stock markets were gripped by fears of a global trade warafter President Donald Trump last week moved to impose tariffson Chinese imports of up to $60 billion, adding to the importrestrictions he has already placed on solar panels, steel andaluminum among others.

"There are some tentative signs that fears of an escalationof trade tensions are beginning to ease," Craig Erlam, a marketanalyst at OANDA wrote in a note to clients.

"A rebound in global equities overnight is offering themarket some optimism of stabilization after last week's rout."

By 8:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 320 points, S&P500 e-minis rose 35.25 points and Nasdaq 100 e-minisgained 110.75 points.

Shares of Boeing and Caterpillar were upabout 3 percent in premarket trading. They, along with otherindustrial stocks, have taken a beating in the wake of Trump'stariffs plans due to their exposure to China.

Last week, the three main U.S. indexes posted their steepestweekly declines since January 2016 as the fears of a globaltrade war added to jitters about a faster pace of U.S. interestrate hikes and fears of regulations to the high-flyingtechnology sector in the wake of Facebook's data scandal.

The S&P 500 is down 3.2 percent for the year, whilethe Dow Jones Industrial Average has slid 4.2 percent.The Nasdaq Composite held on to a 1.3 percent gain.

Microsoft rose 3.8 percent premarket on Mondayafter Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock,saying the company could hit $1 trillion in market value withgrowing public adoption of the cloud and improving margins.

Intel gained more than 2 percent after brokerageRaymond James upgraded the stock to "market perform".(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by AnilD'Silva)