At the open in China’s A-share market, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.27%, the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.87% and the ChiNext Index advanced 1.19%. Semiconductors, industrial gases and precious metals led gains.

The Russian Defence Ministry said on the afternoon of the 8th Russian forces used drones to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure and sea vessels serving Ukrainian forces. The ministry said a dry-cargo ship carrying Ukrainian military equipment was hit in the southwestern Black Sea off Odesa, and a container ship transporting dual-use military-civilian goods was struck at Chornomorsk port. It added the 330 kV Kamyanska substation in Dnipropetrovsk region, previously supplying power to the region's defence-industrial enterprises, was also hit.

Israel President Herzog will task Integrity Party leader and former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot with forming a new government, the president’s spokesman said on the evening of the 7th. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video accused an Eisenkot-led government backed by Israeli Arab parties would “destroy Israel from within.” The Integrity Party replied that Netanyahu is the one dividing Israeli society and is invoking unity only as his tenure ends; it said an Eisenkot government would include only parties and MPs aligned with its principles, would classify Hamas as a terrorist organization and commit to dismantling its military and governing capabilities, and that Netanyahu has failed in fighting Hamas and lacks the standing to lecture others.