Trump goes from opening the Strait of Hormuz to blockading it

President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Navy to blockade all vessels heading in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, in a counterintuitive move that followed another round of talks aimed at, among other things, the reopening of the waterway critical for energy supplies.

As the clock ticks down to the deadline for the blockade to kick off, investors are on tenterhooks with little visibility on how it will be implemented, and how long and deep an oil shock needs to be priced in.

A round of 21-hour marathon U.S.-Iran peace talks hosted by Pakistan over the weekend ended in a stalemate, with U.S. President JD Vance flying home without a deal.

The U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement on thorny issues, with Vance highlighting that Iran’s unwillingness to drop its pursuit of nuclear weapons was the key issue that stalled the talks.

Following the collapse of negotiations, President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. will launch a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the effort will be a “complete blockade” and “all or none,” meaning no ship will be allowed to pass until Iran relents.

Trump’s announcement sent oil prices surging more than 8%. Asian markets fell in early Monday trade. Meanwhile, U.S. futures tumbled overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures losing 517 points, or 1.1%. S&P 500 futures dropped 1% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.2%.

In a sign that the economic fallout from the war has been felt at home, American consumer confidence in April plunged to a record low, according to a University of Michigan survey.

Over in Europe, Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban conceded defeat after a landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, in a major setback for his allies in Russia and Washington.

— Anniek Bao

Trump policies, China’s biotech boom are ending Europe’s pharma powerhouse era

Once the go-to location for global drugmakers, Europe is now being squeezed by President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and drug-pricing policies on one side, and China’s explosive biotech boom on the other.

The pharma industry is a cornerstone of Europe’s economy, but the continent’s declining competitiveness has companies looking elsewhere to place investments. And the issue isn’t just economic. New launches of critical medicines are at stake, as prices and regulations discourage companies from launching them on the continent.

Uncertainty in the U.S. and threat of most-favored-nation pricing “has given pharma companies a lever to pull the negotiations with European governments or European regulators,” ING healthcare analyst Diederik Stadig told CNBC, referring to a Trump policy where the price of a drug in the U.S. is set to the lowest price paid by another comparable country.

— Elsa Ohlen