The negotiations on the Ukrainian peace issue, held yesterday between world leaders at the White House, had a positive effect on the markets.

The broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, MSCI, fell 0.1% after US shares ended the previous session with slight losses. 

Pan-regional Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2%, while contracts on Germany’s DAX and the FTSE edged up 0.1%.

Oil prices fell as markets weighed the possibility of an end to the war in Ukraine, which could lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russian crude.

WTI crude fell 0.8% to $62.92 a barrel, while Brent slipped 0.7% to $66.15.

According to CME FedWatch, money markets are pricing in an 83.6% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s September 17 meeting. The key event of the week will be the Fed symposium in Jackson Hole, held August 21–23, where Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver a speech on economic prospects and the central bank’s policy framework.