European markets open higher as Iran reportedly makes peace proposal

LONDON — European stocks started the new week on a broadly positive footing as investors keep an eye on Iran-U.S. peace talk developments and look ahead to central bank meetings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was almost 1% higher in early dealmaking, with a majority of sectors in positive territory, and most major bourses making gains.

Germany's DAX led the way shortly after 8:00 a.m., rising 0.4%, while the U.K.'s FTSE index dropped almost 0.1%. France's CAC 40 opened 0.2% higher, and Italy's FTSE MIB was also 0.2% up.

Oil and gas was the leading sector, rising 0.6% on the back of rising energy prices, followed by retail stocks, which were more than 0.5% higher. In contrast, food and beverage stocks lost 0.5%, as chemicals dipped 0.4% amid concerns over sustained supply chain bottlenecks around the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up more than 2% on Monday, reaching $107.46 per barrel, as U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.8% to $96.14.

Iran on Sunday reportedly made a new proposal ​to the U.S. to ​reopen the Strait ⁠of ​Hormuz and ​end the war, and for ​nuclear talks ​to be postponed to a ‌later date, Axios reported on Sunday, citing ​a ​U.S. ⁠official and two ​sources with ​knowledge ⁠of the matter.

That comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday scrapped plans to send U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad in Pakistan for talks with Iran.

"Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!" the president wrote in a post on Truth Social, adding: "Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards; they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!"

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at the weekend that no meetings between Tehran and Washington were planned.

Global market attention will be focusing on central banks later this week, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BOE) all due to hold pivotal meetings as the war upends inflation and growth expectations.

The Fed's policy decision on Wednesday could mark Jerome Powell's final meeting as chair before Kevin Warsh is expected to take over in May. The Department of Justice decided to drop its criminal probe into Powell on Friday, causing Sen. Thom Tillis to end his block of Warsh's confirmation.

The ECB and BOE both publish their latest monetary policy decisions on Thursday, with economists expecting the central banks to stand pat on their benchmark interest rates at their respective meetings this month, but will leave the door open to hikes later this year.

Investors on Monday will be keeping an eye on developments in the U.S. after a man armed with multiple weapons charged a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, before being apprehended by U.S. Secret Service agents.

The suspected shooter was identified later Saturday as Cole Allen of Torrance, California. He is being held by authorities as they investigate the shooting.

Earnings come from Deutsche Börse on Monday and German GfK consumer confidence data will be published.

— CNBC's Azhar Sukri, Yun Li and Lee Ying Shan contributed to this market report.