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Traders evaluate diplomatic signals between Russia and

Ukraine

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Nikkei hits record high before sliding after SoftBank

announces

Intel ( INTC ) stake

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Markets eye Fed's Jackson Hole symposium for policy hints

By Rocky Swift

TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Stocks in Asia and oil prices

edged lower on Tuesday before a key meeting of central bankers

and as traders evaluated promising diplomatic signals toward

ending hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

European equity futures posted modest gains after Ukrainian

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said security guarantees for his

nation will likely be worked out within 10 days after talks with

U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.

Japan's Nikkei share gauge set a new intraday record high

before heading lower. The U.S. dollar held on to gains from the

previous session as traders awaited policy hints from the

Federal Reserve ahead of its annual gathering in Jackson Hole,

Wyoming.

"The Jackson Hole Symposium looms as one potential source of

volatility, and going into the event, the markets remain

cautious," Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com, wrote in a

note to clients.

"A dovish shift is being priced in, with further strength in

equity markets - and weakness in the U.S. dollar - reliant on

the Fed meeting these expectations."

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

slid 0.2% in early trading, after U.S. stocks

ended the previous session with mild losses.

Pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.3%,

German DAX futures rose 0.2%, and FTSE futures

added 0.3%.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox News on Monday

that Trump's meeting with Zelenskiy and other European and NATO

partners was very successful.

The meeting followed a summit in Alaska between the U.S.

president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which did not

result in an agreement on ceasing hostilities in the

3-1/2-year-old war.

In a social media post late on Monday, Trump said he had

called Putin and begun arranging a meeting between Putin and

Zelenskiy, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three

presidents.

While traders are keeping an eye on geopolitical

developments, another key focus for the week is the Fed's August

21-23 Jackson Hole symposium, where Chair Jerome Powell is due

to speak on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy

framework.

Money markets reflect an 83.6% chance of a quarter-point

rate cut at the Fed's meeting on September 17, according to CME

FedWatch.

Japan's Nikkei stock index rose at the open before

sliding 0.5%, dragged lower by a 5% plunge in SoftBank Group

after the company announced a $2 billion stake in

struggling U.S. chipmaker Intel ( INTC ).

The dollar was little changed at 147.78 yen. The

euro traded steady at $1.1658, while the dollar index

, which tracks the greenback against a basket of

currencies, edged up to 98.171 after a 0.2% gain in the previous

session.

U.S. crude dipped 0.2% to $63.29 a barrel. Spot gold

was slightly higher at $3,334.9 per ounce.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)