Here are some key points during the first day in Hanoi for US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un until the collapse on Thursday.
There is no breakthrough as Trump and Kim Jong Un left the summit without an agreement between the two leaders.
- Trump spent his first full day of his visit to Vietnam out and about, meeting with Vietnam's prime minister and President while taking part in a signing ceremony for commercial deals; Kim, meanwhile, remained largely out of sight during much of the day ahead of the evening one-on-one meeting with the US president
- Vietnam was very much in focus on the first day; Trump expressed admiration for its economy and said North Korea could similarly thrive if Kim agrees to give up nuclear weapons
- Trump at the signing ceremony looked on as Boeing and VietJet signed a deal valued at around $12.7 billion and Bamboo Airways signed one worth about $3 billion; GE also signed an agreement with VietJet
- Trump's one-on-one with Kim very quickly raised the issue of "denuclearization”, the US president said he's not walking back on his insistence on complete and verifiable denuclearisation by North Korea as a condition to lift sanctions
- But there have been signs in recent days that US is tempering expectations, at least for the meetings this week in Hanoi
- Trump said that he sees his relationship with Kim as a very good one, with initial interaction with Kim that felt quite reminiscent of the Singapore summit
- However, the summit collapses as no agreement was reached. It is no surprise to the market as investors are speculating the worst outcome. Nonetheless, traders will be inclined to take profits after the SPX/USD breath-taking rally.
