[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks gains amid some cautious optimism regarding US-Iran progress

APAC Stocks: Positive

• Asia-Pac stocks are mostly higher following the positive handover from Wall St, where all major indices gained and the Dow notched a record close on what was a choppy session, amid cautious optimism due to contradicting geopolitical headlines.

ASX 200: +0.5%

• Edged higher with outperformance in the mining, materials and resources sectors, while gains in the broader market were capped by weakness in telecoms, real estate and defensives.

Nikkei 225: +2.3%

• Rallied amid continued tech strength with SoftBank shares adding to the recent advances with another double-digit percentage gain, while the latest inflation data was softer-than-expected and could compel policymakers to think twice about a June rate hike.

Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp: Hang Seng +0.8% / Shanghai Comp +0.2%

• Chinese markets are in the green with the Hong Kong benchmark led higher by tech stocks, including Lenovo and NetEase, as the former was boosted by its earnings results, which showed record FY revenue, while the mainland remains contained despite the PBoC upping liquidity efforts for the third consecutive day.

US Equity Futures: Mildly positive

• Remains afloat amid cautious optimism regarding US-Iran progress.

European Equity Futures +0.8%

• Indicate a higher cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.8% after the cash market closed with losses of 0.3% on Thursday.