(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

LONDON, July 22 - What matters in U.S. and global markets

today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets

Oil prices, bond yields and chip stocks were rising in sync

again overnight, as this renewed round of fighting between the

U.S. and Iran entered its eleventh day with no end in sight. But

the chip rally stalled in Asia during a volatile session, and

Wall Street futures are down as investors await results from

Alphabet and Tesla later today.

I'll get into all that and more below.

But first, check out my midweek column on a few important market

stories that aren't in the headlines. This week I zero in on a

jobs market puzzle, shifting monetary goal posts and

single-stock volatility.

And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily

podcast. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the

biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.

ALPHABETTING

Amid the fog of war and market volatility, Japan's yen is also

back on the slide, hitting its weakest level in 40 years above

163 per dollar. The latest yen slip may reflect two things: the

fresh surge in crude prices, a major inflationary risk for a big

oil importer like Japan, and the resumption of U.S. tariff

threats. On the latter, Reuters reported on Tuesday that Japan

is seeking to raise dollar financing to increase its investments

in America as part of February's trade truce with Washington. Of

the $550 billion promised at the time, only about $2 billion has

been earmarked so far.

Needless to say, Tokyo traders are back on edge over the risk of

official intervention to support the yen as Finance Minister

Katayama warned of it again on Wednesday.

Otherwise, chip stocks were the big movers again overnight. The

U.S. SOX chip index jumped back 5% on Tuesday and South Korea's

KOSPI was up by a similar amount earlier following the release

of bumper early July trade numbers, but it then gave back most

of these gains.

This comes as Alphabet gets set to report its second-quarter

earnings, the first of the U.S. Big Tech giants to do so, and

the bar to impress will be very high. Reuters analysis shows the

four AI hyperscalers will see their capex exceed their operating

cash flow by next year, a remarkable shift given that these

companies have long been known for printing cash. Tesla is also

expected to show that it's back in cash burn mode when it

reports today.

The tech stock bounce-back - brief though it was - remains

notable, given the tightening of bond markets around the world

this week in response to crude oil's return to a six-week high

near $95 per barrel.

There is little sign that we will soon see a resolution in the

Iran war, a conflict that has cost the U.S. government more than

$37.5 billion already, according to the Pentagon. Now that the

high point of summer is in the rearview mirror, fuel storage for

the winter is now coming back onto the radar. Goldman Sachs this

week said that if there is no resolution to the Gulf conflict

soon, crude could hit $120/bbl in the fourth quarter.

Elsewhere, UK markets held steady as new Prime Minister Andy

Burnham indicated that he would not tinker with income tax

thresholds - which could have cost the government billions - and

UK inflation eased back to 2.6% in June.

CHART OF THE DAY

Brent crude oil prices climbed toward $95 per barrel, near a

six-week high, as fears of further supply disruptions

intensified after U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets

for the 11th straight night.

Three oil tankers loaded with Saudi crude for China and India

made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday, heading towards the Suez

Canal rather than braving the Yemeni coast following a warning

from the Iran-aligned Houthi militia. Another front appears to

be opening in a re-escalating war, creating concerns about the

build-up of winter fuel storage.

TODAY'S EVENTS TO WATCH

* Earnings from Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, Texas Instruments,

AT&T, Moody's, CME, ServiceNow, CSX, Philip Morris, Northern

Trust

* U.S. Treasury sells 20-year bonds

* Chicago Fed June business survey, Kansas City Fed July

manufacturing survey

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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is

committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

(Writing by Mike Dolan)