* Three major U.S. stock indexes higher in afternoon trade

* U.S. crude oil falls 4%; Brent settles down 3.4%

* U.S. consumer price data due this week

NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Global stock indexes rose on Monday with U.S. tech-related shares driving a more than a 1% gain in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, while U.S. oil prices dropped 4% as price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia overshadowed Middle East tensions.

Shares of Boeing fell about 6.5% and limited gains in the Dow Jones industrial average. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered the temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets fitted with a panel that blew off an Alaska Air Group jet in midair on Friday.

The U.S. dollar and Treasury yields eased as investors awaited this week's U.S. inflation data and weighed when the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates. U.S. consumer price data for December, due Thursday, is expected to show headline inflation rose 0.2% in the month, for a 3.2% annual gain.

Investors are also looking ahead to quarterly results from companies. Major banks including JPMorgan Chase get the next U.S. reporting period under way with reports due Friday.

The S&P 500 technology index was up 2.5% in afternoon trading.

"We do think the gains (in megacaps) will be sustainable after last year's outperformance," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.

The S&P 500's 24% rally in 2023 has increased valuations, so much is riding on the upcoming results season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 141.24 points, or 0.38%, to 37,607.35, the gained 53.12 points, or 1.14%, at 4,750.56 and the jumped 279.95 points, or 1.93%, to 14,804.36.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 nations, gained 0.71%, while European stocks ended up 0.4%. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday, while Chinese blue chips lost 1.1% to hit near five-year lows.

In energy, U.S. crude fell $3.04, or 4.1%, to settle at $70.77 a barrel, while Brent crude fell $2.64, or 3.4% to settle at $76.12.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday cut the February official selling price (OSP) of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia to the lowest level in 27 months. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions were also on the radar as disruptions in the Red Sea raised shipping costs in Europe, while the Israeli conflict with Hamas threatened to spread to Lebanon.

In Treasuries, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes slipped to 3.99%.

The dollar dropped 0.39% against the yen to 144.09, and the euro was up 0.2% on the day at $1.096. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was down 0.2% at 102.21.

Friday's data gave a mixed picture: a Labor Department report showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December, while a survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed activity in the services sector fell in December.

Investors also digested news from Washington where U.S. congressional leaders agreed on a $1.6 trillion spending deal aimed at averting a partial government shutdown.

In the precious metals market, gold prices fell to a three-week low. Spot gold was last down 0.8% at $2,028.89 per ounce.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Karen Brettell and Stephanie Kelly in New York; Johann M Cherian and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; and Nell Mackenzie in London; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe, Jason Neely, Chizu Nomiyama, Sharon Singleton and Richard Chang)