Investors monitor efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war
Global markets are on a mixed trend after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
Trump’s protectionist trade policies continue to fuel uncertainties in the global market, while efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war are being monitored by investors.
Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week and with Zelenskyy on Monday with European leaders also present at the White House.
Trump said Zelenskyy and European leaders discussed security guarantees for Ukraine “with coordination from” the US. Trump called it a “good meeting.”
Meanwhile, the Fed is still expected to cut 25 basis points in September — all eyes turned to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements he will make on Wednesday at the annual conference, the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
US futures started slightly low on Tuesday, having ended Monday with the S&P 500 down 0.01% and the Dow Jones 0.08%, while the Nasdaq completed the day on a 0.03% rise.
The US 10-Year bond rose for the fourth consecutive trading day, currently trading at 4.34 on Tuesday, while the US Dollar Index ended Monday on a 0.3% rise, now at 98.1 on a horizontal course on Tuesday.
Gold closed Monday with a 0.1% decline at $3,332 per ounce, trading on Tuesday at $3,337, up 0.1%, while the Brent crude oil price is $65.7 per barrel, up 0.6% on Tuesday.
European stock markets, with the exception of the UK, showed a negative trend yesterday.
Analysts noted that if the Ukraine war ends, manufacturing costs in the region, particularly energy and raw material costs, could decrease. They also noted that the reduction in public finance support provided by regional countries to Ukraine could have a positive impact on their budget implementation.
The eurozone posted a trade surplus of $8.1 billion in June, while the region’s exports rose 0.4% on an annual basis to $276.5 billion and its imports soared 6.8% to $268.3 billion, latest data showed.
The DAX 40 declined 0.18%, the CAC 40 0.5%, and the FTSE MIB 30 0.03%, while the FTSE 100 climbed 0.21% on Monday. European futures started Tuesday on a positive trend.
Meanwhile, Asian equity markets were mixed, led by tariff concerns. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is behind in fighting inflation risks.
Expectations that the BoJ may tighten its monetary policy led to estimates that the bank may increase its policy rate by 25 basis points by the end of the year. Japan’s 10-Year Treasury bond rose 3 basis points to 1.6% at the same time.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.2% and the Kospi Index 0.6%, the Shanghai Composite Index 0.4%, and the Hang Seng Index 0.2% near the close.
