Euro STOXX 50 futures down 0.1%, German DAX futures down 0.1%, UK FTSE 100 futures down 0.3%.

The CPPCC held a special consultation in Beijing on the 28th; Politburo Standing Committee member and CPPCC chairman Wang Huning attended and said grain security must be treated as a national priority. He urged raising agricultural production capacity and improving quality and efficiency, advancing livable, productive and attractive rural areas, and enhancing the effectiveness of policies to strengthen, benefit and enrich farmers, and called on CPPCC experts and business figures to use their professional roles to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization.

Reportedly, the EU is planning sanctions on more than 1,600 companies for assisting Russia's war in Ukraine, the largest single sanctions list to date. Targeted firms have combined annual revenues of over $20bn and employ more than 265,000. The package requires unanimous approval by EU member states; if adopted, the number of entities sanctioned by the EU in the Russia‑Ukraine conflict would rise by about 50%.