The chip-led selloff that pulled the Nasdaq 100 into correction territory after Intel's warning is reversing hard in premarket trading, even as the Strait of Hormuz remains an active flashpoint. SK hynix jumps 4.8% and the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF adds 3.6%, with Fabrinet up 3.3%, Marvell Technology up 3.1%, Arm Holdings up 2.1% and Super Micro Computer up 2.1%. The VIX is down 3.6% and crude, via the Crude Oil ETF, is off 3.2%, a risk-on tone that stands in contrast to the tanker attacks still playing out in the Gulf.

The rebound in risk appetite tracks a shift in the Iran narrative. Iran's Baghaei says message exchanges with Washington continue through Doha, though Tehran insists the Vance letter offers no new basis and says it is not yet ready for nuclear talks. Axios reports a diplomat involved in the process describing progress, and the IRGC's own disclosure that 11 tankers have burned in the Strait since October 25 underscores how costly the standoff has become even as both sides signal openness to de-escalation. Overnight, an Iranian tanker caught fire after hitting naval mines, the Qatari LNG carrier Al Mayeda was struck by unclaimed projectiles, and UKMTO flagged a separate incident near Saudi Arabia, so the shipping risk has not gone away even as sentiment turns.

Goldman Sachs raised its December Brent forecast to $105 a barrel from $90, even as Brent itself dropped 4% overnight on hopes for a US-Iran resolution, a split between the bank's structural view on supply risk and the market's immediate reaction to diplomatic headlines. OPEC+ is reportedly set to hold December output targets steady.

Elsewhere, Netanyahu is pressing Trump to resume strikes on Iran immediately after Tuesday's US midterms, while Trump is said to prefer giving diplomacy more room, a tension that could reassert itself once the election passes. Reuters reports Washington is also pushing to restore Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine, an idea floated by envoys Kushner and Witkoff. In crypto, Binance says net outflows since Sunday have reached $4.7bn following its hack, even as the exchange insists all major tokens remain fully backed and withdrawals stay on schedule.

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