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

columnist for Reuters.)

July 10 - TRADING DAY -

Making sense of the forces driving global markets

By Alden Bentley, Editor in Charge, Americas Finance and

Markets

Jamie is enjoying some well-deserved time off, but the Reuters

markets team will still keep you up to date on why two benchmark

stock indexes, and bitcoin, reached new records. I'd love to

hear from you so please feel free to reach out at

Today's Key Market Moves

* The S&P 500 closed up 0.27% and the Nasdaq rose

0.09%

* The dollar slipped fractionally against the yen but

rose

against the euro

* The 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.6 basis points

* US crude oil futures fell about 2.2% to

$66.88/barrel

* Gold bullion rose about 0.4% to 3,325.25

Today's Key reads

Trump sets 50% US tariffs on copper, Brazilian imports

starting in August

Bitcoin hits another record high

US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly slip to 7-week low

Investors look for signs European earnings can defy tariff

turmoil

Wall Street stocks close higher, Delta forecast boosts

sentiment

New highs, almost no news

This week, the default reflex on Wall Street, without

any economic data or major market news to react to, and even

with now-routine White House tariff edicts, was to buy. Thursday

confirmed the pattern with a new set of records in two of three

main indexes, with an all-time bitcoin high thrown as a bonus.

U.S. President Donald Trump's latest trade salvo was a 50%

tariff on goods from Brazil. That sent its currency, the real

, tumbling more than 2%, enabling another day of dollar

steadiness above last week's three-to-four-year lows.

Like Wednesday's levies on copper imports, the Brazil

headline didn't stop the S&P 500 or Nasdaq from closing at

all-time peaks, with the Dow rising close to its December

record.

The week has been very light on scheduled events. It started

with the focus on Trump's well-advertised July 9 tariff

deadline. That came and went and somewhere in the blizzard of

new tariff headlines, actual new tariffs and cajoling of trade

partners to negotiate is an August 1 cut-off date for markets to

wait for.

Next week, JP Morgan and other major banks kick off the

second quarter earnings season on Tuesday so investors will have

headlines more in their comfort zone. Included in that category

is the June Consumer Price Index report due on Tuesday.

Treasury yields ticked up on the back of weekly jobless

claims data that showed a surprise drop in those seeking

unemployment benefits.

Bitcoin's price first moved above $100,000 in December and

it has traded sideways since crossing $110,000 in May, until

renewing its upthrust above $113,000 on Thursday. New Bitcoin

exchange-traded funds have made it easy for big and small

investors to jump in, while Trump seeks to establish a strategic

cryptocurrency reserve and has appointed several crypto-friendly

individuals like Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul

Atkins and White House AI czar David Sacks.

What could move markets tomorrow?

* No major U.S. data, Fed speakers or other events

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.

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