Syria's foreign minister said nuclear material will remain in Syrian custody and will be subject to IAEA safeguards and oversight.

NetEase (09999.HK) will report Q2 results Thursday. A FactSet survey of nine analysts forecasts reported net profit up 13% YoY to RMB 9.72 bln and adjusted net profit up 7.3% YoY to RMB 10.23 bln; revenue is seen +4.3% YoY to RMB 29.1 bln, supported by evergreen titles including Fantasy Westward Journey and Eggy Party. Nomura warns NetEase’s holdings in Alibaba and Pinduoduo could widen investment losses and weigh on reported net profit. Nomura expects July release The Forgotten Sea could generate RMB 200–300 mln monthly gross revenue, potentially accelerating game revenue growth in H2. CITIGROUP tracking shows 57 games in the pipeline, 23 approved for domestic launch; any management update to the release schedule could be an additional stock catalyst.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 opened down 8.00 points (-0.09%) at 9,065.20 on Aug 18 (Tuesday).