Diplomatic progress on Ukraine and a Nvidia selloff mark a mixed day, with cautious optimism on the war front offset by fresh market and interest-rate worries.

• Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face peace talks since February, meeting for nearly four hours in Abu Dhabi with the US mediating; both sides called the talks productive and reportedly agreed to a large prisoner exchange, a hopeful sign for ending the war.
• British police arrested a US Army soldier in England on suspicion of helping Russian intelligence, a reminder that the war's shadow still touches Western institutions even as talks move forward.
• Nvidia stock fell sharply after reports tied its CEO to a possible Chinese spy, spooking investors already nervous about the chip giant.
• Prices rose more than expected last month, and a Fed official said that could push the Fed toward a bigger interest-rate hike in December instead of a smaller one, bad news for borrowers and stocks.
• The broader stock market also fell as rate-hike fears combined with the Nvidia news to drag indexes down.

Outlook: Watch for a follow-up round of Russia-Ukraine talks and the Fed's December decision, both of which could move markets and the war's direction in the coming weeks.