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

Wee

U.S. President Donald Trump's operation "Project Freedom" hasn't

got off to a promising start.

Sure, Maersk's U.S.-flagged vehicle carrier

Alliance Fairfax might have exited the Gulf via the Strait of

Hormuz accompanied by U.S. military assets.

But several merchant ships in the Gulf also reported explosions

or fires, the U.S. said it had destroyed six small Iranian

military boats, and an oil port in the United Arab Emirates,

which hosts a large U.S. military base, was set ablaze by

Iranian missiles.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said that authorities would

investigate the cause of a fire on a South Korean-operated ship

in the Strait.

All that and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz remains largely at

a standstill.

The fragility of the U.S.-Iran truce left markets in a

precarious mood on Tuesday, with stocks in Asia falling and oil

prices holding well above $100 a barrel.

Australia's Westpac Banking Corp ( WEBNF ) was the latest lender

to warn about the risks stemming from the Middle East conflict

as it reported lower-than-expected first-half profit.

As the global energy shock drags on, the pain is becoming

increasingly costly for governments in Asia, who are scrambling

to find alternative fuel sources and insulate their economies

from the worst of the crisis.

Philippine annual inflation accelerated to a three-year high in

April, data on Tuesday showed, as a surge in fuel prices raised

the chance of more policy tightening.

Geopolitics aside, the earnings season is also in full swing,

with chip giant AMD and pharmaceutical firm Pfizer ( PFE )

among those set to release results later in the day.

Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed 83% of S&P 500

companies that have already reported have beaten EPS estimates

and 78.2% have exceeded revenue estimates.

A slew of central bankers across the Bank of England, the

European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are also due to

speak across various events, on the heels of last week's policy

meetings that saw several turn more hawkish.

Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:

- Bank of England's Sam Woods speaks

- European Central Bank's Christine Lagarde and Philip Lane

speak

- Federal Reserve's Michael Barr and Michelle Bowman speak

- Earnings include AMD, Pfizer ( PFE ), KKR, PayPal, AMC

Entertainment

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(Editing ny Kate Mayberry)