A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from

Gregor Stuart Hunter

We are now about halfway through the most action-packed part of

the week. The eye of the storm, if you will.

In case you have forgotten, today we are catching up on

corporate earnings, key economic data releases, several central

bank interest rate decisions, and all the latest twists and

turns in trade negotiations before new U.S. tariffs kick in on

Friday.

Hot off the presses: The yen appreciated 0.6%

immediately after the Bank of Japan kept rates on hold as widely

expected. Markets are focused on an upwards revision in

inflation forecasts, with Governor Ueda due to speak shortly as

traders anticipate rate hikes may be back on the agenda this

year.

With second-quarter earnings season halfway complete, Nasdaq

futures ripped 1.3% higher after blow-out earnings from

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta Platforms ( META ). The U.S. dollar

held steady after hitting a two-month high, on track to tally

its first monthly gain all year.

"It has been a great earnings season so far, and that's the

primary reason why U.S. stocks continue to do well, but the full

brunt of the tariffs hasn't been felt," said David Chao, global

market strategist for Asia-Pacific at Invesco in Singapore.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

fell 0.7%, though it was still on track for its

fourth consecutive monthly increase. Stocks in Hong Kong

led declines, down 1.1% after official PMI gauges showed

weaker-than-expected activity during July.

Copper futures plunged 19.4% after U.S. President

Donald Trump said the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on copper.

The Korean won appreciated 0.1% after Trump said

the U.S. will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea.

The Asian country will invest $350 billion in U.S. projects and

purchase $100 billion in U.S. energy products.

The announcement is the latest in a series of trade policy

deals rushed out before the August 1 deadline that Trump set for

trade deals before the U.S. imposes what he called Liberation

Day tariffs.

Trump also issued a blitz of tariff announcements ranging

from goods from Brazil to small-value shipments from overseas.

In early European trades, pan-region futures were

up 0.2%, German DAX futures were up 0.2% and FTSE

futures were up 0.1% ahead of another flurry of earnings

and inflation data.

Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:

* US earnings: Apple, Amazon.com, Mastercard

* European earnings: Shell, Unilever, British American

Tobacco,

London Stock Exchange Group

* German data: Import prices for June, unemployment for

July,

preliminary CPI and HICP for July

* French data: Preliminary CPI for July, producer prices for

June

* Eurozone data: Unemployment for June

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