** S&P 500 Energy index .SPNY rises 2.1% as oil prices pare earlier losses O/R

** Brent crude futures LCOc1 up 0.4% at $76.29 per barrel

** U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 down 0.4% at $72.81 a barrel. It fell more than 3% earlier in the session to its lowest since late December, amid trade war fears between United States and China

** Oil rose after an official said U.S. President Donald Trump plans to restore his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran in bid to drive down Iranian oil exports to zero, which offset some weakness from tariff drama between Washington and Beijing

** Shares of oil and gas majors Exxon Mobil XOM.N up 2.8% and Chevron CVX.N up 2.6%

** Phillips 66 PSX.N, Valero Energy VLO.N, APA Corp APA.O and Marathon Petroleum MPC.N up between 4.2% and 7%; among top pct. gainers on energy index

** Oilfield services firms Halliburton HAL.N and SLB SLB.N up 3% and 2.8%, respectively

** Refiners PBF Energy PBF.N and HF Sinclair DINO.N up 7.8% and 5.9%, respectively

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru)

((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))