At the closely watched talks on Monday, Trump said peace negotiations can take place while both countries are still fighting, dropping his earlier calls for a ceasefire. He also said that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy is being planned, to be followed by a trilateral meeting which will include Trump.
Zelenskyy said a package of coveted security guarantees for Ukraine — expected to include a massive purchase of American weapons — would be “formalized on paper within the next week to 10 days.”
European markets climb
It was a positive day overall for European markets, with the regional Stoxx 600 index gaining 0.73% as the U.K.’s FTSE 100 notched a record closing high of 9189.22 points. Retailer JD Sports led gains, up 7%, after analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their target price on the stock to £1 ($1.35) from 85p.
Investors are gearing up for the U.K.’s July inflation print on Wednesday morning, where economists polled by Reuters see the annual rate of price rises hitting 3.7%, up from 3.6% in June.
Sentiment was mixed on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high but later pulled back from those levels ahead of key speeches from Fed officials this week.
Central bank officials from around the globe will convene in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the Fed’s annual economic symposium which begins Thursday. Investors are awaiting clues from Fed Chair Jerome Powell as to what will happen at the central bank’s remaining policy meetings this year.
The Fed funds futures market is indicating an 83% chance for a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s next policy meeting in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
