Live news: Biden and Erdoğan focus on defence and economy in ‘first step’ meeting

Events: In South Korea, the trial begins for former Samsung executive Choi Jin-seok, accused of stealing sensitive information to help set up a chip factory in China. The Tokyo District Court is set to rule on Shinichi Ueno, former director of advertising agency ADK, in connection with the 2020 Olympics corruption scandal. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe , delivers a speech on the economy, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand conducts a review of monetary policy.

Business results: India’s Tata Consultancy Services Releases First Quarter Business Update.

Economic data : Japanese machines order May data to be released by cabinet office. The reading of the country’s producer price index is also expected. Malaysia releases Industrial Production and Retail Sales figures, while India releases latest Consumer Price Index and Industrial Production figures. The Philippines releases May foreign investment data and New Zealand announces visitor arrivals for that month.

Markets: Futures were pointing higher in Hong Kong and Tokyo on Wednesday morning. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% on Tuesday, ahead of inflation data that traders will look to for clues on the future trajectory of U.S. interest rate hikes .

US President Joe Biden discussed bilateral relations with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and hailed his decision to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO, during a military alliance summit meeting in Vilnius, in Lithuania.

The leaders discussed their defense and economic priorities, and shared interests such as their support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and “preserving stability in the Aegean Sea”, according to the House White.

The Turkish leader said the meeting with Biden was a “first step” in repairing strained relations between the countries. “Our meetings before that were just warm-ups, but now we’re starting a new process.”

Salesforce posted its biggest one-day gain in four months after the software group announced price hikes for some of its products, the first increase in seven years.

The San Francisco-based company said it will raise list prices for its products, which include Sales Cloud and Tableau, in August by an average of 9%.

Shares closed up 3.9% on Tuesday, their biggest jump since mid-March. That extended a rally that left them up about two-thirds year-to-date.

Salesforce has taken steps to focus on profits in an effort to appease activist investors. The group reached a truce with Elliott Investment Management in March.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a rally in Vilnius that “Ukraine will strengthen the alliance” after NATO leaders agreed in a summit statement to grant Kiev an invitation to join.

Zelenskyy said he arrived in Vilnius “with faith in the decision” to offer Ukraine to join the defense bloc, “with faith in our partners, with faith in a strong NATO that does not hesitate, don’t waste time and don’t look back at any aggressor”.

Addressing a roaring crowd on Tuesday night, Zelenskyy said he believed Ukraine’s fight was in defense of all of Europe.

UK postal workers have backed a deal over wages and changes to working practices at Royal Mail, ending a dispute that had deeply disrupted postal services and led to one of the biggest crises in the history of the UK 507 year old organization.

The Communications Workers Union said on Tuesday that more than three-quarters of the 67% of members who voted backed its deal struck with Royal Mail in April.

The announcement follows 18 days of strike action in the last quarter of 2022, amid a dispute centered on Royal Mail’s plans to adapt working practices in response to growing demand for shopping deliveries in line and competition from Amazon.