[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac equities broadly in the green, boosted by a new Iranian proposal; European equity futures point to a positive open

Asia-Pac stocks point to a broadly positive start of the week, mainly spurred by an Axios report detailing that Iran gave the US a new proposal, through Pakistani mediators, for reaching a deal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war. It is a three-stage proposal, with the halting of the war and focus on the Strait of Hormuz highlighted as the key points before the third stage of nuclear issues.
ASX 200 is the underperformer, being weighed on by losses in Energy and Utilities following Friday’s risk-on sentiment hitting energy prices. Among the weakness, Atlas Arteria (+12%) outperforms after IFM investors offers to buy the Co. for AUD 4.75/security.
Nikkei 225 initially traded with a lack of direction before being boosted following the Axios report. The index has regained the 60,000 handle and now trading at ATHs beyond 60,500.
KOSPI is the clear outperformer as it tracks its peers’ stateside. This was spearheaded by Intel (INTC) after the Co. reported positive Q1 earnings and beat forecasts.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. trades with modest losses, with losses in the Shanghai Comp. more exacerbated than in the Hang Seng index. Chips across Asia are performing well, with China’s SMIC also benefiting from the announcement that DeepSeek’s V4 is adapted to run on Huawei chips.
US equity futures reverse losses seen at the start of futures trade, with ES topping 7,200.
European equity futures are indicative of a slightly firmer open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future +0.5% after cash closed -0.2% on Friday.