By Dow Jones Newswires Staff
Oil remained elevated early Monday as stalled peace talks between the U.S. and Iran weighed on global markets ahead of a busy week of central bank policy decisions.
Peace talks expected to take place between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend didn't go ahead, dragging on investor sentiment. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boarded two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, Iran's Tasnim news agency said. However, market optimism lifted slightly early Monday after a report from Axios said Iran has given the U.S. a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war. Nuclear negotiations would be postponed for a later stage, the report said.
U.S. stock futures edged lower ahead of a clutch of earnings announcements from megacap tech stocks later this week, while U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly. The U.S. Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee meets this week, while central banks in Europe, Japan and the U.K. are among others set to announce interest rate policy.
--In early European trading, Brent crude for June delivery rose 2.4% to $107.86 a barrel, while WTI futures for June gained 2.3% to $96.55 a barrel. "The lack of progress means the market is tightening every day, requiring oil prices to reprice at higher levels," analysts at ING said. "There's little alternative to fill a roughly 13-million-barrel-a-day shortfall."
--In the U.S., futures tied to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were down 0.1% after both indexes closed at fresh records Friday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%.
U.S. equity investors watch for Verizon earnings Monday. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are all due to report after market close Wednesday.
--Asian stocks traded mixed on Monday as investors navigate optimism around AI against the backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East. Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.4% to close above 60000 for the first time, Taiwan's Taiex closed up 1.8%, led by TSMC gains, while South Korea's Kospi rose 2.2% as chip and robotics stocks advanced. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index moved 0.2% lower.
--Europe's blue-chip indexes largely edged higher in muted early trade. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 climbed 0.1% as retail companies and the travel and leisure sector gained. The French CAC 40 rose 0.3%, pushed higher by a positive open for luxury stocks. Germany's DAX was up 0.4% as industrials gained while Commerzbank rose 1.9%. London's FTSE 100 was flat, with hotel owner Whitbread rising 3.3%. The Dutch AEX was 0.35% lower, while the Italian FTSE MIB and Spanish IBEX 35 both gained around 0.2%.
--The dollar traded steady after reaching a near three-week high overnight. The DXY dollar index was flat at 98.536 after reaching as high as 99.343.
--U.S. Treasury yields rose in Asian trading. Along with the Middle East developments, this week's busy schedule of central bank meetings, including that of the Federal Reserve, are in focus. "This week, monetary policy decisions will be the primary market movers," Danske Bank's Asger Wilhelm Dalsjo said. The two-year Treasury yield was up 2.3 basis points to 3.798% and the 10-year yield was 1.4 basis points higher at 4.323%, according to Tradeweb.
--Eurozone government bond yields also rose slightly. The ECB is expected to hold interest rates steady on Thursday, but markets still price two rate hikes this year, according to LSEG. The 10-year German Bund yield rose 1.1 basis points to 3.016%, according to Tradeweb.
--Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $77,627.
--New York gold futures were down 0.2% to $4,730.50 a troy ounce.
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-27-26 0433ET
