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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and

global markets today

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

The S&P 500 may have stalled on Thursday, but the Nasdaq hit a

new high, as a week of positive earnings surprises and rising

Fed easing expectations overshadowed tariff worries and a few

isolated stock flubs. Tech excitement continues to push up all

major index futures ahead of Friday's bell.

* The stock stumbles on Thursday included an outsize 14%

earnings-day hit to pharma giant Eli Lilly after a disappointing

drug trial and a 3% drop in Intel after Trump demanded the

resignation of its CEO due to Chinese links.

* Longer-term Fed easing expectations were buoyed after Trump

said he will nominate Council of Economic Advisors Chairperson

Stephen Miran to temporarily fill Adriana Kugler's vacant board

seat and dovish Fed Governor Chris Waller was reported to be his

top pick for the Chair next year. JPMorgan now expects a rate

cut next month, and the futures market is pricing in rates as

low as 3% by the end of next year, about 20 basis points lower

than expected a month ago.

* U.S. Treasury yields flatlined and the dollar nudged higher,

as Thursday's long-bond auction continued a week of lukewarm

debt sales and weekly jobless claims data showed few signs of

the softness flagged in last week's payrolls report. Sterling

was firmer after the Bank of England only narrowly voted to cut

rates on Thursday, and the peso was steady after Mexico's

central bank eased again too.

* U.S. gold futures climbed to a record high on Friday after a

Financial Times report said the United States had imposed

tariffs on imports of one kilo and 100 ounce gold bars, a move

that could impact Switzerland, the world's largest gold refining

hub. Crude oil prices fell to two-month lows as the expected

talks between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin raised

the prospect of easing sanctions on Russia.

Today's Market Minute:

* U.S. President Donald Trump has wielded the threat of tariffs

as an all-purpose foreign policy weapon. With a Friday deadline

for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or have its oil

customers face secondary tariffs, Trump has found a novel, but

risky, use for his favorite trade tool.

* OpenAI launched on Thursday its GPT-5 artificial intelligence

model, the highly anticipated latest installment of a technology

that has helped transform global business and culture.

* Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on

Friday to take control of Gaza City, as the country expands its

military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and

abroad over the devastating almost two-year-old war.

* Britain's ambition to rev up its economy and tap the AI

revolution faces the harsh reality that the abundant, clean and

reliable electricity supply this requires is unlikely to

materialise any time soon. Read the latest from ROI energy

columnist Ron Bousso.

* U.S. President Donald Trump has the so-called 'BRIC' group of

nations directly in his trade war crosshairs,

slapping super-high tariffs on imports from Brazil and India.

But this belligerence could backfire writes ROI columnist Jamie

McGeever.

Chart of the day:

The New York Fed's latest survey of household inflation

expectations saw the long-term price rise outlook creeping back

up to the highest since March, with views over one, three and

five years now converging toward 3% - a point above the Fed's 2%

inflation target. However, the history of the survey shows

consumer views frequently gravitate to these levels over the

past decade even before the post-pandemic inflation surge and

during periods when actual inflation was much lower.

Weekend reads:

TRUMP WINNING?:

Just over six months into his second term in the White House and

amid huge economic policy disruption, Trump looks to be getting

what he wants without bowling over the economy, writes former

International Monetary Fund chief economist Kenneth Rogoff in a

review. How successful those wins prove over the longer run

remains far less clear, he argues on Project Syndicate.

DATA MANIPULATION COSTS?:

Trump's firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief has

raised questions about politically-biased government economic

data going forward. Council on Foreign Relations fellow Benn

Steil gives a glimpse of what studies show about the cost of

data manipulation elsewhere in the world.

CHINA TRADE AND EU JOBS:

Following a recent European Central Bank blog on the impact of

rising Chinese imports on European inflation, the ECB's latest

bulletin contains a piece on how rising Chinese import

competition - partly due to trade diversion from tariffed U.S.

markets - might affect European labor markets. While auto and

chemical sectors are already affected, it reckons the broader

implications might extend to nearly one-third of euro area

employment.

OFFSETTING 'CHINA SHOCK':

America's hit from Chinese competition has only really been felt

in Germany since 2020, argues Technical University of Munich

Professor Dalia Marin in a VoxEU column. To avoid America's

painful de-industrialisation of the 2000s, she says, Chinese

market entry in Europe should be made conditional on forming

joint ventures with European firms in order to retain global

competitiveness.

MUSK VS MODI?:

Elon Musk's court case against Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Modi's government in the Karnataka High Court targets the entire

basis for tightened internet censorship in India, one of the

biggest user bases of Musk's X platform. As regulators globally

weigh free-speech protections against concern about harmful

content, Reuters Munsif Vengattil, Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditya

Kalra give a detailed account of this pivotal battle between the

world's richest person and authorities of the world's most

populous country.

Today's events to watch

* Canada July employment report (8:30 AM EDT)

* St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem

speaks; Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill speaks

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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.

(by Mike Dolan; editing by Sharon Singleton )