| Welcome to your morning markets update, delivered every weekday before the European open. Good morning. Another front in the trade war sparks back into life, OPEC's meeting enters day two and the wrangling over the top jobs at the EU is getting tense. Here's what's moving markets. Trade Fronts Having managed to get a temporary truce sorted at the G-20, the U.S. has turned its attention back to the European Union with the release of a list of further goods that may be targeted with retaliatory tariffs as part of a long-running battle over subsidies between plane makers Airbus SE and Boeing Co. Expect that to take some sheen off the optimism the U.S.-China detente brought on Monday, a front on which President Donald Trump says talks have already started. OPEC Cuts Oil prices didn't quite get the fillip one might have expected from OPEC and its allies agreeing to a nine-month extension to output cuts, with crude ultimately pulling back from the five-week highs it hit on Monday as the fundamental drivers for higher prices clashed with weakening economic sentiment. OPEC+ will meet again on Tuesday to ratify the agreed production curbs. One of the attendees, Iran, will also be watching whether its breach of its nuclear deal limit increases tensions with the European Union. EU Jobs The wrangling among European countries about where the top jobs in the EU are going to go will enter a third day with an increasing number of participants expressing distinct annoyance that the process is taking so long. The attempt to appoint Dutch Socialist Frans Timmermans as the head of the European Commission is facing fierce opposition and until that job is agreed upon, appointing people to other positions, most notably atop the European Central Bank, may be delayed. On the EU's other key wrangling front, U.K. MPs were blocked in their attempt to remove the no-deal option from the Brexit equation. Protests The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong ramped up on Monday and officials were left cleaning up the mess of tear gas canisters and umbrellas littering the streets on Tuesday, in addition to promising to push back against further unrest. It solidifies another concern for global investors and, in Europe, particularly for luxury-goods merchants exposed to Hong Kong upscale shoppers and to Asia-exposed banks like HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc, both of which underperformed otherwise green markets on Monday as the protests sparked up again. Coming Up... Asian stocks were mixed, with Hong Kong's market rising after a holiday as it caught up with Monday's exuberance. European futures are pointing to another positive open. The EU may decide to open disciplinary procedures against Italy for breaking fiscal rules, just as the country's revenue is booming. U.K. house price data is due and car manufacturers will report their U.S. sales for June and the second quarter. What We've Been Reading This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. And finally, here's what Cormac Mullen's interested in this morning The difference in performance between a small number of global mega-cap stocks and the majority of smaller companies that make up the world market is stark - and ominous. An analysis of the Bloomberg World Index shows companies worth over $100 billion make up just 2.4% of members and have had the highest median return over the last 12 months, at 15%. Those valued between $5 billion and $50 billion had a median performance of 4.8% while firms between $1 billion and $5 billion showed a loss of 3.8%. The latter two groups make up a combined 87% of the global gauge.The data show a worrying concentration of return dependency. As strategists at SocGen noted Monday, it's a healthier stock market when the majority of names are doing well. The increased likelihood of easier monetary policy from major central banks has buoyed benchmark indexes in recent months, despite signs of a slowing global economy. Scratching below the surface shows the rising tide is not lifting all boats.  Cormac Mullen is a Cross-Asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Tokyo. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more. | 
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