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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

Oct 22 - What matters in U.S. and global markets today

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

Gold's stellar climb this year has hit the buffers and

streaming giant Netflix ( NFLX ) disappointed Wall Street with its latest

earnings, stopping stock markets in their tracks as trade and

geopolitical jitters mounted again.

Despite being on course for the best year since 1979 and

with no ostensible trigger, gold prices turned tail on Tuesday

and plunged 5% - the biggest one-day drop in five years. The

recoil extended on Wednesday, bringing it close to breaking back

below $4,000 per ounce before steadying.

The size of the gold drop suggested that speculative fervor

has driven the latest run-up as much as safe-haven demand and a

firmer dollar - largely driven by the yen's fall on reports of

another big Japanese fiscal boost.

With the S&P500 stalling on Tuesday and futures flat ahead

of today's bell, Netflix ( NFLX ) fumbled overnight - dropping almost 6%

in out of hours trading after its third-quarter update missed

targets on a Brazilian tax dispute. Netflix ( NFLX ) had risen 39% this

year up to that release.

Tesla and IBM and a host of other big names are due out

later, with the overall U.S. earnings season so far marginally

ahead of expectations and tracking 9% annual profit growth.

With Friday's U.S. inflation report and Wednesday's 20-year

Treasury bond auction on the radar, the long-bond yield eked out

another 6-month low.

British government bonds were one of the big market movers

in Europe and 10-year gilt yields hit their lowest since April

after UK September inflation unexpectedly held steady at 3.8% -

encouraging bets on another Bank of England rate cut this year.

Sterling slipped back against the dollar and euro.

Barclays stock jumped 5% after it announced a surprise share

buyback and upgraded a key profitability target for the year.

Meantime, hopes for an end to the Washington shutdown this

week were knocked back somewhat- as was speculation of separate

meetings soon between President Donald Trump and both China's

leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the

U.S.-China trade standoff and Ukraine war, respectively.

In today's column, I take a look at Friday's U.S. inflation

report and how the U.S. has likely moved into an above-target

inflation regime - whatever you think about the tariff impact.

Today's Market Minute

* A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and

Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as

Moscow's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a

cloud over attempts at negotiations.

* Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing an

economic stimulus package that is likely to exceed last year's

$92 billion to help households tackle inflation, government

sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.

* British inflation and a key underlying measure of price growth

both unexpectedly held steady in September, official figures

showed on Wednesday, offering some relief to finance minister

Rachel Reeves ahead of her November budget.

* Global oil prices are signalling that the market is tipping

into a protracted period of oversupply, but the huge disparity

in forecasts for OPEC's production will likely limit the

selloff, argues ROI energy columnist Ron Bousso.

* Is the U.S. equity market near the peak scaled in the lead-up

to the dotcom bubble? Comparing current pricing with the late

1990s indicates that - far from reaching a summit - U.S.

equities may only be at "base camp", argues Stephen Jen, CEO of

Eurizon SLJ asset management, in his latest piece for ROI.

Chart of the day

Argentina's central bank sold $45.5 million from its reserves on

Tuesday to support the exchange rate, after the peso reached the

upper limit of the central bank's floating band despite U.S.

support and a $20 billion currency swap to guarantee payment of

the next public debt maturity. The intervention came as

uncertainty in the market ahead of Sunday's legislative

elections spurred a shift toward dollar assets.

Today's events to watch

* Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr speaks; European

Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, ECB Vice President

Luis de Guindos and ECB board member Claudia Buch all speak;

Bank of England's Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation Sam

Woods speaks

* US corporate earnings: Tesla, IBM, Lam Research, Northern

Trust, CME, Moody's, Boston Scientific, Kinder Morgan, Thermo

Fisher Scientific, Teledyne, Amphenol, Molina Healthcare,

Westinghouse, AT&T, Packaging Corp of America, Hilton Worldwide,

Globe Life, GE Vernova, United Rentals, Avery Dennison, First

Energy, Las Vegas Sands, Raymond James, Crown Castle, Lennox,

O'Reilly Automotive,

* US Treasury sells $13 billion of 20-year bonds

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

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