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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

August 6 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

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

Markets slipped into something of a holding pattern overnight as

eyes homed in on tomorrow's July U.S. employment report and what

appears to be the latest deal to help end the Iran conflict.

I'll get into that and more below.

But first, check out my latest column on why the absence of full

G7 firepower in the U.S.-Japan joint currency intervention is

significant.

And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily

podcast, where we discuss the latest apparent Iran deal and

gold's biggest one-day gain in six months.

Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news

in markets and finance seven days a week.

GOLD STIRS

Brent crude sulked below $80 per barrel on Thursday as Iran

indicated a plan with Oman may be imminent. But this potential

deal appears likely to allow Tehran to retain control of inbound

traffic to the Strait of Hormuz. Whether Washington will accept

that arrangement is far from certain.

Meantime, the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back a touch on

Wednesday, stalled by post-earnings stock price flubs from

SpaceX and AMD, as well as from high-flying Sandisk and Western

Digital. It was a split market, however, as the Dow Jones hit a

new high.

Asian equities took their cue from the tech pullback stateside,

with South Korea's KOSPI falling more than 4% and Japan's Nikkei

nearly 1% on Thursday. Wall Street futures were mixed before the

bell.

Gold, perhaps reflecting hopes for an end to the Iran war and

easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates,

had its best day in six months on Wednesday, hitting its highest

level in seven weeks. That said, it's still down nearly 20% from

where it was when the Iran war started in late February.

All eyes are now trained on the July U.S. payrolls update due

tomorrow. Labor market reports this week have so far come in on

the softer side, with below-forecast private-sector jobs gains

for July reported by ADP yesterday. Along with the lower oil

price, that's helped take some of the heat out of the rates

market and Treasuries.

But markets are also considering what Fed members are saying

ahead of next month's meeting. Overnight, board governor Lisa

Cook said she was prepared to raise rates if inflation didn't

come down soon. At the same time, San Francisco's Mary Daly

indicated she was more comfortable with the Fed's current stance

as it awaits more data.

Chart of the day

Gold, an unexpected casualty of the Iran war that has been in

the doldrums for months, had its best day in about six months on

Wednesday, hitting its highest level in seven weeks.

Although the yellow metal is still down about 20% since the

Gulf conflict kicked off, gold seems to be benefitting from the

belief that oil's sharp retreat on the latest hopes for an Iran

deal will take pressure off the Fed to hike rates before

year-end.

But, as ever, there are numerous aspects to what's happening

inside the gold market, not least the ebb and flow of gold

accumulation among central banks and its place in investment

portfolios as a diversifier.

Today's events to watch

* U.S. weekly jobless claims (8:30 a.m. EDT), Q2 labor costs

and productivity (8:30 a.m. EDT)

* U.S. corporate earnings: Cloudflare, ConocoPhillips,

Warner Bros Discovery

Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday

morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on

the Reuters website, and you can follow us on LinkedIn and X.

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.