US President Donald Trump attends UFC 327: Jiri Prochazka vs Carlos Ulberg at Kaseya Center in Miami, on April 11, 2026. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Julia Demaree Nikhinson | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump has certainly packed a lot into one weekend. <\/p>\n
He spent more than four hours watching a UFC title fight in Miami on Saturday, while negotiators failed to reach a deal with Iran during a 21-hour meeting in Pakistan. He then announced his plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, while also taking to Truth Social to slam Pope Leo XIV over his views on the Iran war.<\/p>\n
A busy 48 hours.<\/p>\n
Across the pond, Hungary has voted in a new government for the first time in 16 years. <\/p>\n
Much for the investors to digest as markets kick off another trading week. <\/p>\n
What you need to know today<\/p>\n Crude oil prices surged on Monday, as the U.S. Navy prepares to impose a blockade<\/a> on Iran’s ports after peace talks failed over the weekend.<\/p>\n U.S. crude oil<\/a>\u00a0futures for May delivery jumped more than 8% to above $100 per barrel, and International benchmark\u00a0Brent<\/a>\u00a0for June delivery also advanced over 8% in early trade.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command said Sunday the military will blockade all maritime traffic<\/a> entering and exiting Iranian ports on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. It added that the U.S. will not impede vessels transiting to and from non-Iranian ports.<\/p>\n Asia-Pacific markets traded lower Monday<\/a>,\u00a0with India’s Nifty 50 the worst-performing major Asian index, declining nearly 2%. U.S. futures <\/a>point to a negative open, while European futures are also weaker. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday bashed\u00a0Pope Leo XIV<\/a>\u00a0over the U.S.-born Roman Catholic pontiff’s criticism of the U.S. war in\u00a0Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n The president said he does not “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States<\/a> because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” in a\u00a0Truth Social<\/a>\u00a0post.<\/p>\n Trump linked the pope’s ascension to his return to office as president.<\/p>\n “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump said. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”<\/p>\n Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orb\u00e1n conceded defeat<\/a> on Sunday after a landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, in a setback for his allies in Russia and U.S. President\u00a0Donald Trump’s<\/a>\u00a0White House.<\/p>\n “The election results are not final yet, but the situation is understandable and clear,” Orb\u00e1n, 62, said at the Fidesz campaign offices. <\/p>\n “The election result is painful for us, but clear.”<\/p>\n European leaders welcomed pro-EU Tisza party leader, Peter Magyar, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen<\/a> saying, “Hungary has chosen Europe” <\/p>\n \u2014 Leonie Kidd<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n Goldman Sachs is set to report first-quarter earnings \u2014 here\u2019s what Wall Street expects<\/a><\/p>\n