July 10 (Reuters) - The results season is kicking off with

the world's largest chipmaker and key U.S. banks reporting,

while data out of the U.S. and China will give a fresh

perspective on the state of growth, inflation pressures and

trade flows.

Here's all you need to know about the coming week in

financial markets by Wen-Yee Lee in Taipei, Rocky Swift in

Tokyo, Amanda Cooper in London and Lewis Krauskopf in New York.

1/CHIP CHIP HURRAH

The world's largest manufacturer of advanced AI chips,

Taiwan's TSMC will report second-quarter earnings on

Thursday.

The results come days after South Korean memory-chip giant

SK Hynix pulled off a blockbuster $26 billion U.S.

share sale, and amid a rising debate on whether the AI-fuelled

semiconductor rally still has further to run.

TSMC, Asia's most valuable listed company and a key supplier

to Nvidia ( NVDA ), Apple ( AAPL ), AMD and Broadcom ( AVGO )

, is expected to offer one of the clearest readings yet

on AI demand. Investors will be keen to see whether it upgrades

its 2026 revenue growth and capital spending forecasts.

The company said last month it was scrambling to keep up

with relentless AI demand and avoid becoming a bottleneck in the

chip supply chain, while also hinting it would like to raise

prices for customers.

2/BANKING ON IT

The U.S. earnings season gets under way next week, with Wall

Street's biggest banks setting the tone for what investors hope

will be another strong quarter for corporate America.

Five of the six largest U.S. lenders, including JPMorgan

Chase ( JPM ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS ), report on Tuesday

followed by Morgan Stanley ( MS ) a day later. Trading desks are

expected to have had a bumper quarter as market volatility kept

investors busy.

Beyond the banks, investors will also hear from a string of

heavyweight names including Netflix ( NFLX ), BlackRock ( BLK )

and Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ).

Expectations are running high. S&P 500 companies are

forecast to post a hefty 23.4% jump in second-quarter earnings

from a year ago, according to LSEG IBES, after first-quarter

profits came in much stronger than many had expected.

3/HOLDING OUT FOR HORMUZ

U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration that an interim

ceasefire agreement with Iran is "over" has fired up volatility

across all markets. Oil has briefly topped $80 a barrel, serving

a reminder of the risk of another pickup in inflation.

Crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz are picking up,

which should help keep a lid on prices. But with the U.S. and

Iran trading blows, there is little visibility on whether that

pace can be sustained, or increase meaningfully.

Traders have loaded up on options that give them the right

to buy Brent futures above the current price by the end of July

- a sign many believe oil might look cheap right now.

LSEG data shows the biggest jump in holdings was for options

to buy crude between $86 and $91 a barrel by the end of July.

The caveat is they have also maintained their largest holdings -

options to sell Brent at either $69 or $70.

4/PRICE CHECK

A packed week of U.S. economic data could give investors

their clearest read yet on whether inflation is cooling - or

proving stubborn enough to keep the Fed on its toes.

The spotlight falls on June consumer price inflation on

Tuesday, followed by producer prices a day later. Thursday's

retail sales figures will offer another clue to the strength of

the U.S. consumer, whose spending has been a key support for the

economy.

Fears that the economy was running too hot abated after a

softer-than-expected June jobs report, but investors are still

trying to gauge how worried the Federal Reserve is about

inflation, consistently running ahead of the 2% annual target.

Minutes from the Fed's June meeting showed policymakers remained

uneasy about price pressures under new Chair Kevin Warsh.

Warsh himself is expected to deliver ​his first testimony on

monetary policy before ‌Congress on Tuesday.

5/CHINA CHECK

Chinese data will be closely watched for signs of how the AI

boom and Iran war are impacting the world's second-biggest

economy.

Trade has been one of the few bright spots as Beijing tries

to steer growth away from its long-troubled property sector and

towards domestic consumption, which remains sluggish.

Export data on Tuesday are expected to show shipments rising

18.0% year-on-year in June, slightly cooler than the 19.4%

expansion seen in May, which was driven by demand for chips and

other technology goods.

The bigger test might come on Wednesday, when China reports

second-quarter GDP, with growth expected to slow to 4.5%

year-on-year. The economy expanded 5% in the first quarter,

beating forecasts and at the top of Beijing's growth target, but

most of the period was before war broke out in Iran, roiling

energy markets.

(Graphics by Mayank Munjal, compiled by Karin Strohecker,

Editing by William Maclean)