Markets Steady Near Records as Trump Pushes Ukraine-Russia Summit – Asia Market Wrap

Financial markets traded in a narrow range, with global equities holding near record highs, after Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s president and European leaders ended with a call for a summit with Russia.

European equity-index futures gained 0.2% as leaders of the US, Ukraine, Europe and NATO touted progress on peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Oil slipped 0.7% amid speculation that a ceasefire could lead to more Russian supply. Asian shares were flat while stocks in mainland China held near their decade-high level. Japanese government bond futures extended losses after sale of a 20-year government debt drew weak demand.

Contracts for US stocks fell 0.1% and Treasuries were steady after S&P Global Ratings affirmed its AA+ long-term rating for the US, as well as its A-1+ short-term rating. A gauge of the dollar was little changed.

Markets were cautiously optimistic on the Ukraine peace process after Trump urged Vladimir Putin to begin planning a summit with Zelenskiy. Investors face a pivotal week as the Federal Reserve’s annual Economic Policy Symposium kicks off Thursday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, potentially offering signals on the path of interest rates.

Trump called Putin and urged the Russian leader to begin making plans for a summit with Zelenskiy, after meeting the Ukrainian president and European leaders at the White House on Monday. The proposal – which Trump pitched as a one-on-one summit between Ukraine and Russia’s leaders that would be followed by a trilateral gathering involving all three – represented the latest turn in the US president’s push to broker a quick end to a conflict that has lasted over three years.