European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: Competitiveness is a core issue for the European Commission. We are cutting bureaucracy and strengthening defense capabilities. At the same time, we are also improving the Single Market and Capital

- S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Monday as stalled Iran peace talks and a fresh escalation in the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher, keeping geopolitical tensions front and center heading into a pivotal week - President Donald Trump on Saturday scrapped plans to send U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for ceasefire talks related to Iran, noting the negotiations could happen by phone. - Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said no meeting between Tehran and Washington are currently planned. - Axios report that said Iran has offered a new proposal to the U.S. for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war while suggesting that nuclear talks be deferred. - On the corporate front, five of the “Magnificent Seven” companies are set to report results in the final week of April - Attention will also turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday, which could mark Jerome Powell’s final meeting as chair before Kevin Warsh is expected to take over in May - The Department of Justice decided to drop its criminal probe into Powell on Friday, causing Sen. Thom Tillis to end his block of Warsh’s confirmation. - United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby confirmed he reached out to American Airlines about a potential merger, which was rejected by American as anticompetitive. - Qualcomm, Apple — The chipmaker surged more than 12% after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a post on X that OpenAI is working with Qualcomm to develop smartphone processors. Apple, the iPhone maker, slipped 1.5% on the report of a potential new competitor. - Japan, South Korea stocks close at record highs as Iran reportedly proposes Hormuz deal - Traders are currently pricing in a 100% chance that the Fed will leave rates unchanged at this week’s meeting, with fed funds futures indicating policy is most likely to stay on hold for the rest of the year

The onshore yuan closed at 6.8239 against the US dollar at 16:30 on April 27, up 103 points from the previous trading day.