South Korea's foreign minister said President Trump’s comments about reducing joint military exercises appear to signal an intent to pressure South Korea into participating in a war with Iran.

UK employers increased layoffs in July as domestic and external uncertainty kept hiring muted. ONS data showed employees fell by 13,000 in July and vacancies continued to decline. The unemployment rate remained at 4.9% in the three months to June, but the ONS warned data quality has deteriorated due to collection errors. Private-sector regular pay excluding bonuses slowed to 2.8% YoY in the three months to June from 2.9%, the weakest pace in about six years. Firms cited heightened uncertainty from the Iran war and incoming PM Burnham’s first budget later this year; jobs have fallen over the past two years amid a weak economy and Labour government increases in payroll taxes and the minimum wage.

英国富时100指数8月18日（周二）开盘上涨5.84点，涨幅0.05%，报10726.14点； 欧洲斯托克50指数8月18日（周二）开盘下跌17.70点，跌幅0.27%，报6512.75点； 西班牙IBEX35指数8月18日（周二）开盘上涨11.89点，涨幅0.06%，报19993.79点； 意大利富时MIB指数8月18日（周二）开盘下跌114.98点，跌幅0.21%，报53472.00点； 德国DAX30指数8月18日（周二）开盘下跌89.91点，跌幅0.34%，报26279.75点； 法国CAC40指数8月18日（周二）开盘下跌17.44点，跌幅0.20%，报8562.16点。