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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

June 29 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

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

Is it over or not? World markets that assumed the Middle East

conflict was over and done with got a rude awakening over the

weekend after the United States conducted fresh strikes on Iran

in response to attacks on Gulf shipping.

But oil markets barely got a chance to react in early trading

today, as the two sides agreed to halt hostilities and resume

peace talks once again.

I'll get into that and more below.

But first, 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.

WEEKEND WARS

Crude prices didn't react much to the weekend's hostilities,

maintaining their recent slide to pre-war levels heading into

the week, with parts of the oil market already seeing oversupply

due to a resumption of Gulf shipping. Brent crude was still

trading at under $73 per barrel on Monday morning, after

slipping more than 10% last week.

However, the wobbly tech sector remains on edge after last

week's whipsaws and selloffs, largely due to profit-taking after

a spectacular quarter for chip stocks.

Real concerns are still swirling on that front. Despite Micron

Technology's blowout earnings report last week, the tech space

was also rocked by product price rises from Apple on soaring

memory costs, as well as reports of a possible delay to OpenAI's

planned IPO.

Combined with the peace deal uncertainty, those worries helped

keep Asia markets jittery on Monday, with major indexes closing

lower. Things looked steadier elsewhere, with Wall Street

futures in the green before the bell and European shares holding

their ground in early trading.

Meanwhile, the dollar was poised for its biggest monthly gain

against major peers in nearly a year, fired higher by Federal

Reserve rate-hike bets.

The week will be shortened by Friday's Independence Day

holiday stateside, with the June payrolls report set for release

on Thursday. That should give a further read on the outlook for

Fed policy.

Elsewhere on the calendar for the week, new Fed Chair Kevin

Warsh will make a speech on Wednesday at the European Central

Bank's annual symposium in Sintra, Portugal, which kicks off

today.

And Andy Burnham, the leading contender to become the next UK

prime minister, was set to deliver his first keynote speech on a

plan for government on Monday morning. He is expected to outline

a long-term vision for raising living standards and giving more

power to regional authorities.

Chart of the day

The U.S. dollar is heading for its biggest monthly gain in

nearly a year, ahead of key U.S. jobs data later in the

holiday-shortened week, with futures markets still betting on a

Fed interest rate rise by October.

At the sharp end of the dollar stick is Japan's yen, which

continues to hover near 40-year lows. CFTC data shows that

speculative short-yen positioning has ballooned to extremes not

seen since 2024.

Today's events to watch

* ECB's annual forum begins in Portugal

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