By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writers

Wall Street ticked modestly lower early Monday ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting later Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders.

Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were all 0.1% lower before the bell.

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Markets showed scant reaction to Trump’s inconclusive summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Investors are also watching for cues from an annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of top central bankers later this week.

In premarket trading, Soho House jumped 16% after the global membership-based club said it was being taken private by hotel operator MCR. Executive Chairman Ron Burkle and other big shareholders will retain their equity interests and control of the business.

Dayforce, a human resources software company, climbed more than 28% before the bell on media reports that it is being acquired by Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Bloomberg reported that Thoma Bravo was offering $9 billion, including debt, to take Dayforce private.

Some of the biggest U.S. retailers will report their latest financial results throughout the week, including Home Depot, Target and Walmart.

Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy will include other European leaders who were not included in the president’s talks in Anchorage, Alaska, with Putin. The European allies are seeking to present a united front in safeguarding Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.

An annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of top central bankers later this week will be watched closely for hints about possible interest rate cuts from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. He is due to speak Friday at the conference.

“While the official theme is labor markets, investors will scrutinize any hint of September policy direction, especially after last week’s mixed inflation data,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary, adding that “any progress on Ukraine peace talks could push global equities higher still.”

Expectations have been building that the Fed will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, though mixed reports on the U.S. economy have undercut those bets somewhat.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX lost 0.3%, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.7%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 picked up 0.8%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up early gains, losing 0.4%.

The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1%. It’s trading near it’s highest level in a decade.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.2%.

The Kospi in South Korea declined 1.5% on heavy selling of semiconductor makers like Samsung Electronics, whose shares fell 2.2%. SK Hynix lost 3.3% as investors fretted over the possibility of more U.S. tariffs on computer chips.

MIAMI (AP) — A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

It reintensified to a Category 4 storm with 130 mph maximum sustained winds early Monday and moved closer to the Southeast Bahamas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

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Around 5 a.m. Monday, Erin was about 105 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk Island and about 915 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm was moving northwest at 13 mph.

The Bahamas government issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the central Bahamas, while a Tropical Storm Warning remained in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeast Bahamas, the hurricane center reported.

Additional strengthening was forecast for Monday followed by gradual weakening, but Erin was expected to remain a large, major hurricane into midweek.

Hurricane-force winds extended up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles. The area of strong winds is expected to grow more over the next few days. At that size, Erin will impact coastal areas even though it isn’t forecast to make a direct landfall.

Dare County, North Carolina, declared an emergency and ordered an evacuation beginning Monday of Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks, the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that juts far into the Atlantic. Several days of heavy surf and high winds and waves could wash out parts of N.C. Highway 12 running along the barrier islands, the National Weather Service said.

Erin, the year’s first Atlantic hurricane, reached an exceedingly dangerous Category 5 status Saturday with 160 mph (260 kph) winds before weakening.

“You’re dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity is fluctuating. It’s a dangerous hurricane in any event,” Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center said.

Erin’s outer bands pelted parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rains and tropical-storm winds during the day Sunday.

That knocked out power to about 147,000 customers, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees the transmission and distribution of power on the island. More than 20 flights were canceled due to the weather. The Coast Guard allowed all ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to reopen Sunday as winds and rains decreased.

Rough ocean conditions were forecast for parts of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos. Life-threatening surf and rip currents were forecast into midweek for the Bahamas, Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast and Canada’s Atlantic coast as Erin turns north and then northeast.

Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapor and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.

By JOSH BOAK and SAMYA KULLAB, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings with him an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia.

The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, and they’re looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.

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By arriving as a group, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy’s February meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for American military aid. The meeting also is a test of America’s relationship with its closest allies after the European Union and the United Kingdom accepted Trump’s tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine.

Monday’s showing is a sign of the progress and the possible distress coming out of the Alaska meeting as many of Europe’s leaders descend on Washington with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine’s interests, a rare and sweeping show of diplomatic force.

“It’s important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for all of Europe,” Zelenskyy said on X.

The night before the meeting, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions and suggested Ukraine couldn’t regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote on social media. “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”

Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post, saying, “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.” He went on to say that “peace must be lasting,” not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and “Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.”

The sitdown in Alaska yielded the possible contours for stopping the war in Ukraine, though it was unclear whether the terms discussed would ultimately be acceptable to Zelenskyy or Putin.

Upon arrival in Washington, Zelenskyy said in another social media post: “We all equally want to end this war quickly and reliably.” He expressed hope that together with the U.S. and European countries Ukraine will be able to force Russia to “true peace.”

European heavyweights in Washington

Planning to join Zelenskyy in America’s capital are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz upon arrival in the garden of the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025 to join a video conference of European leaders with the US President on the Ukraine war. (John MacDougall/Pool Photo via AP)

On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable. Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump’s team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack.

Trump briefed Zelenskyy and European allies shortly after the Putin meeting, and details from the discussions emerged in a scattershot way that seemed to rankle the Republican U.S. president, who had chosen not to outline any terms when appearing afterward with Putin.

“BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,” Trump posted online Sunday. The president also bemoaned media coverage of his summit with Putin, saying on Truth Social: “I had a great meeting in Alaska.”

Following the Alaska summit, Trump declared a ceasefire was unnecessary for peace talks to proceed, a shift to a position favored by Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday a ceasefire was still possible but “the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.”

‘A very big move’

European officials confirmed Trump told them Putin is still seeking control of the entire Donbas region, even though Ukraine controls a meaningful share of it.

And Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the U.S. and its allies could offer Ukraine a NATO-like commitment to defend the country if it came under attack as the possible security guarantee.

“How that’s constructed, what we call it, how it’s built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that’s what we’ll be talking about over the next few days with our partners who are coming in from overseas,” Rubio told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Rubio said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” such a commitment “would be a very big move” by Trump. He expects the delegations will “spend six, seven hours talking about these things, maybe more, and try to get to a point where we have something more concrete.”

Monday’s meeting will likely be very tough for Zelenskyy, an official close to the ongoing talks said. That official spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak openly about thinking within Ukraine and between allies.

Zelenskyy needs to prevent a scenario in which he gets blamed for blocking peace talks by rejecting Putin’s maximalist demand on the Donbas, the official said. It’s a demand Zelenskyy has said many times he’ll never accept because it’s unconstitutional and could create a launching pad for future Russian attacks.

If confronted with pressure to accept Putin’s demands, Zelenskyy would likely have to revert to a skill he has demonstrated time and again: diplomatic tact. Ukrainian leadership is seeking a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin to discuss sensitive matters, including territorial issues.

Trump’s ambition to end the war

After enduring a public tirade by Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February, Zelenskyy worked to repair relations with the U.S.

FILE – President Donald Trump welcomes Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Constant diplomatic communication and a 15-minute meeting at the Vatican in April on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral helped turn the tide. Trump appeared at the time to be swayed by Zelenskyy’s conditions for peace.

But Trump says he cares primarily about ending the war, an ambition that led him after his meeting with Putin to discard the need for a ceasefire.

European allies also have worked with Trump, reaching a deal in July for NATO allies to buy weapons from the U.S. for Ukraine.

Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Macron stressed the importance of building up Ukraine’s military and the need to show Putin that Europe interprets his moves as a threat to other nations.

“If we are weak with Russia today, we’ll be preparing the conflicts of tomorrow and they will impact the Ukrainians and — make no mistake — they can impact us, too,” Macron said.

Russia continues attacks on Ukraine

In the meantime, the Russian forces continued pounding Ukraine with missiles and drones.

A Russian drone strike late Sunday on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, killed seven civilians. The strike also injured 20 people, authorities said.

Russian aerial attacks also targeted the northeastern Sumy region and the southern Odesa region.

In Zaporizhzhia, a city in the southeast, 17 people were injured in an attack Monday, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched four Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 140 Shahed and decoy drones across Ukraine overnight, of which 88 drones were intercepted or jammed.

Kullab reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, Illia Novikov in Kyiv and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.

By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss how to end Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.

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Months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting haven’t made headway, but the stakes have risen since Trump met with with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. After that summit, Trump abandoned the requirement of reaching a ceasefire in order to hold further talks and aligned with Putin’s position that negotiations should focus on a long-term settlement instead.

The presence of several European leaders at the talks in Washington shows how central the conflict — and any settlement — is to wider security questions on the continent.

They are looking to safeguard Ukraine and Europe more broadly from any further aggression from Moscow — but also are providing a show of support for Zelenskyy after his last visit to the White House led to an angry confrontation. The American and Ukrainian leaders are scheduled to first meet privately, without the Europeans.

Here’s what to know about the Washington meeting.

The talks could be a pivotal moment in the war

After meeting Putin in Alaska, Trump is making a big push for a breakthrough.

A lot of issues need to be resolved, however, and the two sides have previously established red lines that are incompatible, including questions of whether Ukraine will cede any land to Russia, the future of Ukraine’s army and whether the country will have any guarantee against further Russian aggression.

In a post on social media Sunday night, Trump appeared to shift the burden for ending the war to Zelenskyy, whose country was invaded in February 2022.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote.

A comprehensive peace deal could still be a long way off.

Putin wants the Donbas

As a condition for peace, the Russian leader wants Kyiv to give up the Donbas, the industrial region in eastern Ukraine that has seen some of the most intense fighting but that Russian forces have failed to capture completely.

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, a Russian Army BM-21 “Grad” self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian position in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In his Sunday night post, Trump wrote that Zelenskyy should also accept Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

As part of a deal, Putin has said the United States and its European allies can provide Ukraine with a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense pledge, according to a senior U.S. official.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff called that a “game-changing” step though he offered few details on how it would work.

Ukraine has long pressed for some kind of guarantee that would prevent Russia from invading again.

Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia

Zelenskyy has rejected Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender the Donbas region, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, since the Ukrainian Constitution forbids giving up territory or trading land. That also means he can’t cede Crimea either.

Instead, freezing the front line — which snakes roughly 620 miles from northeastern to southeastern Ukraine — seems to be the most the Ukrainian people might accept.

Russia currently holds about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Europe’s security is also at stake in the talks

European leaders see Ukraine’s fight as a bulwark against any Kremlin ambitions to threaten other countries in eastern Europe and beyond.

French President Emmanuel Macron described Ukraine as an “outpost of our collective defense if Russia wanted to advance again.”

“If we are weak with Russia today, we’ll be preparing the conflicts of tomorrow and they will impact the Ukrainians and — make no mistake — they can impact us, too.” Macron said Sunday.

The European political heavyweights expected in Washington are Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Civilians are killed as the fighting continues

Ukraine has in recent months been losing more territory against Russia’s bigger army, and Moscow’s forces breached Ukrainian lines in a series of minor infiltrations in the Donetsk region ahead of the Alaska summit. But there is no sign of a looming, major Russian breakthrough on the front line.

Rescuers evacuate an injured civilian after a residential building was hit following Russia’s missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Both sides have also kept up their daily long-range strikes behind the front line.

A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killed six people late Sunday, including an 18-month-old and a 16-year-old, according to regional head Oleh Syniehubov. The attack on the northeastern city injured 20 others, including six children, he said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday reported intercepting 23 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the annexed Crimean peninsula overnight.