Asian stocks were mostly higher Monday while oil dipped ahead of talks between Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and European leaders in Washington.
US President Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, but the summit failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Zelensky, who will be joined in Washington by European leaders, however called a US offer of security guarantees to Ukraine "historic".
"Trump and Putin walked away without a ceasefire, without even the illusion of one," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
"What they did offer was theatre: enough 'progress' for Trump to declare victory and quietly holster his double-barreled threat -- tariffs on Beijing for buying Russian barrels and sanctions on Moscow's crude,