ORLANDO, Florida, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. tech stocks

dived on Tuesday, slammed by worries over the sector's lofty

growth expectations ahead of key earnings reports, while another

rise in oil prices stoked concerns over central banks' ability

to navigate the darkening outlook for growth and inflation.

In my column today, I look at outgoing Fed Chair Jerome

Powell's legacy. From an economic perspective, his tenure can be

considered a success, with caveats. But perhaps he will best be

remembered for his fierce defense of the Fed's independence and

refusal to bow to political pressure from President Donald

Trump.

If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I

recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets

today.

1. UAE leaves OPEC in major blow to global oil

producers' group

2. UAE exit strips OPEC of clout, risks bitter price

war: Bousso

3. Big Tech investors to gauge payoff as AI spending set

to hit $600 billion

4. Bank of Japan keeps rates steady but hawkish split

points to June hike

5. 'See through' Iran war? Markets exploit permacrisis

instead: Mike Dolan

Today's Key Market Moves

* STOCKS: Asia and Europe mostly lower, a few exceptions

like KOSPI, FTSE 100 and Japan's Topix. U.S. stocks fall, tech

drags Nasdaq down 0.9%.

* SECTORS/SHARES: U.S. tech -1.3%, chips index -3.6%,

software +0.3%. Energy +1.7%. Oracle -4%, CoreWeave -6%.

* FX: Dollar edges up, rises most vs SEK, CHF, NZD. Yen

slips after BOJ meeting, Thai baht slips ahead of rate decision.

* BONDS: Global yields rise. 10-year gilt yield above 5%

for first time in a month, U.S. 7-year auction is decent -

strong demand from direct bidders, weak indirects.

* COMMODITIES/METALS: Oil rises, WTI +4% back above

$100/bbl, Brent +3% above $110. Gold -2%, silver -3%.

Today's Talking Points

* Exiting OPEC

The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday it is pulling

out of OPEC, the fourth country to quit the bloc in recent years

following Angola in 2024, Ecuador in 2020 and Qatar in 2019.

This is a bigger deal than all of those though, raising serious

questions about the group's long-term future.

The UAE's exit will sharply diminish the 65-year-old group's

influence over the oil market, and could pave the way to a price

war when the Iran war is over. Although it had been a

possibility for years, the timing was something of a surprise -

another source of volatility and uncertainty for the oil market

right now.

* Bonds on the run

The selling pressure on global sovereign bonds is

intensifying. With Brent oil still well above $100 a barrel,

energy and fuel prices across the board remain elevated.

Consumer and market-based inflation expectations are rising.

Britain's 10-year gilt yield closed above 5.00% on Tuesday

for the first time since 2008, Japan's 10-year yield matched its

highest close since 1997, and average U.S. gasoline prices are

the highest in four years. With many major central banks meeting

this week, there's plenty of food for thought.

* Red (hot) Sox

No wonder U.S. semiconductor stocks dived on Tuesday - the

boom this month has been historic, by some measures, the most

frenzied since 2000. Until Friday, the 'SOX' index was up nearly

40% in April and up over 160% from a year earlier - both the

most since 2000. It was also the most overbought since 2000

relative to its 200-day moving average, according to BofA.

History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes, and investors

will be well aware that the Nasdaq took 15 years, and the 'SOX'

index almost 18 years, to revisit their 2000 peaks after the

dotcom bubble burst.

What could move markets tomorrow?

* Developments in the Middle East

* Energy market moves

* Australia inflation (March, Q1)

* Thailand interest rate decision

* ECB lending (March)

* Euro zone inflation expectations, consumer sentiment

(April)

* Germany inflation (April)

* European earnings include AstraZeneca, UBS, TotalEnergies,

Santander

* Brazil interest rate decision

* Canada interest rate decision

* U.S. interest rate decision

* U.S. durable goods (March)

* U.S. trade balance (March, advance)

* U.S. earnings include Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon

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