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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

July 27 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

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

A pause in the Iran conflict and a sizeable retreat in crude oil

prices away from $100 per barrel offer some relief at the start

of what's set to be another turbulent week for markets.

The calendar is certainly packed, with the Federal Reserve

meeting on Wednesday, a third of the S&P 500 set to report

earnings - including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Qualcomm

- and second-quarter U.S. GDP estimates also due.

I'll get into that and more below.

But first, listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily

podcast, where we break down the week to come and oil's latest

retreat.

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CHINA CHIP CHAMP

There's still at least a one-in-four chance of a Fed rate hike

on Wednesday priced into futures, despite the latest retreat in

oil prices. The Bank of Japan and Bank of England are also set

to meet this week, with the former eyeing fresh yen weakness and

the latter meeting just as a new UK prime minister takes office.

But oil prices set the tone first thing this week. Brent crude

began falling from the triple-digit level on Friday, and the

U.S. then said it was pausing strikes on Iran after 13 straight

days of attacks. Iran indicated it would reciprocate and we now

have to wait to see if some mediation resumes.

There were some reports of the U.S. side running low on

munitions, but many in the market will now assume that $100 oil

is a pinch point that focuses minds - at least in Washington.

Brent fell further to around $89/bbl early on Monday. Shares in

Asia firmed and Wall Street futures were up sharply before the

bell.

In earnings, the hyperscalers will be forensically examined

again after Alphabet's second-quarter cash burn saw its stock

fall last week despite a big earnings beat.

Elsewhere in the AI world, the Wall Street Journal reported that

Nvidia was in talks to provide a roughly $250 billion backstop

for OpenAI as part of a data center project. That speaks to both

the intensifying cross-financing in the sector and OpenAI's

efforts to build out its own infrastructure.

On the other side of the world, Chinese chipmaker CXMT had a

blowout IPO on Monday that saw its stock soar nearly 500% in its

Shanghai debut.

Chart of the day

New chip on the block? This year's global frenzy over chipmaker

stocks added another name on Monday as China's CXMT soared

almost 500% on its market debut in Shanghai. This makes it

China's most valuable stock, overtaking the Industrial and

Commercial Bank of China.

Asia's biggest IPO of the year raised about $8.6 billion, giving

it a valuation of more than half a trillion dollars. Only 6.73%

of CXMT's enlarged share capital was freely tradable at listing,

as most shares are locked up. The small initial float likely

magnified the price swings and attracted strong turnover.

But given U.S. restrictions on Chinese chips, CXMT is likely

to be a pivotal part of China's development of its own tech and

AI ecosystem, making it a strategic firm globally.

Today's events to watch

* U.S. June durable goods (8:30 a.m. EDT)

* U.S. 2-year and 5-year note auctions

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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.