-- Led by large tech-rallies in Seoul and Taiwan, Asian stock markets gained ground on Monday in holiday-thinned trading.
Hong Kong also finished in the green, while Bangkok, Shanghai and Tokyo remained shuttered.
After recent AI-triggered rallies on Wall Street, Seoul's KOSPI Index rose 5.1% to strike a fresh all-time zenith, led by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics, up 5.4%, and SJ Hynix, up 12.5%.
Taiwan's TWSE Index rose 4.6% on the day, also hitting new record high, led by 6.6% rise in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, finishing up 1.2% as traders embraced tech and property shares.
The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 319.25 to 26,095.88, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 71 to 19. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.1%.
Leading the upside was smart-phone and EV-maker Xiaomi, gaining 6.8%, while Macau gaming-house Galaxy Entertainment declined 2.8%.
On the other regional exchanges, the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.4%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.2%, and Mumbai's Sensex was up 0.5%.
In economic news, the seasonally adjusted South Korea manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) logged at 53.6 in April, up from 52.6 in March, and striking further above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, said S&P Global.