Reports of an imminent trade agreement between China and the US made investors rejoice on Monday.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 exceeded 50,000 points for the first time and had risen by 2.1 percent at the lunch closing. The broader Topix index rose 1.5 percent.
A new record was also reached in South Korea when Kospi rose by 2.1 percent and exceeded 4,000 points.
Broad gains were also seen in China during the initial trading. The Shanghai composite index had risen by 1.0 percent at lunch, Shenzhen by 1.3 percent and the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng by 1.0 percent.
