Asia-Pacific equity markets traded higher on Monday as investors monitored developments in negotiations between the United States and Iran.
By 11:30 am AEST (1:30 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 had risen 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.6% to fresh record highs. South Korea's KOSPI 200 outperformed regional peers, advancing 2.2%.
Investor sentiment was supported by optimism surrounding talks between U.S. and Iranian officials in Switzerland, where negotiators are attempting to preserve a fragile peace agreement reached last week.
In economic news, China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a 13th consecutive month, matching market expectations.
The People's Bank of China kept the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) at 3.00%, while the five-year LPR, which serves as a reference for mortgage lending, remained at 3.50%.
The decision signalled that policymakers continue to favour stability in monetary settings as they assess the strength of the country's economic recovery.
Trading activity across global markets was subdued at the end of last week due to public holidays in several major financial centres.
U.S. equity markets remained closed on Friday for a public holiday, leaving investors without direction from Wall Street heading into the new week.
In commodities, ICE Brent crude rose 0.9% on Friday to settle at US$80.58 a barrel, supported by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, spot gold fell 1.1% to finish at US$4,161.06 an ounce.
Chinese mainland markets and Hong Kong were also closed on Friday for public holidays, with the SSE Composite Index, CSI 300 and Hang Seng Index not trading.
Elsewhere in Asia, India's BSE Sensex declined 0.8% to close at 76,802.9.
European markets ended lower on Friday; the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 10,363.3, Germany's DAX lost 0.2% to close at 24,985.8, and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.6% to 8,421.1.
