Wall Street’s main indexes remained almost unchanged as investors closely followed the meeting in Washington between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European leaders, and U.S. President Donald Trump, amid hopes for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, AFP reported.

Markets also held steady ahead of the release of financial reports from leading U.S. retail chains this week.

Changes in the indexes were minimal: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.1% to 44,911.82 points, the S&P 500 remained unchanged at 6,449.15 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also closed flat at 21,629.77 points.

European leaders arrived at the White House together with Zelensky for a meeting with Trump aimed at overcoming serious differences regarding a possible peace agreement more than three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the outcome remains uncertain.

“We are all watching these talks, especially whether there will be peace and what the price of that peace will be,” commented Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities.

Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak at the end of the week at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, with investors looking for signals on when the central bank may proceed with another interest rate cut.

Cardillo noted that company results from firms such as Home Depot and Walmart will also be released this week, providing insights into consumer behavior and the effect of tariffs introduced by Trump since January. Equally important will be the forecasts the companies present for the coming months, he added. | BGNES