Japan's Nikkei 225 extends rally to hit new high; China stocks higher

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index hit a fresh record high Monday as traders returned from a long weekend. Elsewhere, China shares opened higher to extend their winning streak.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%, comfortably trading above its closing record of 39,098.68. The index first breached its 1989 all-time high of 38,915.87 on Thursday.

The broader Topix added 0.8%.

Investors will focus on a slew of economic data expected this week including China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index and the U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index data, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

China's CSI 300 index inched 0.1% higher. The index is on track to register its tenth straight day in the green.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.1%.

South Korea's Kospi bucked the broader trend to fall 1.1%, while the small-cap Kospi added 0.2%.

Korea's financial regulatory body unveiled new measures to improve corporate governance, while taking a page out of Japan's playbook to help boost its undervalued local markets, often referred to as the "Korea discount."

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%.

Wall Street's main indexes hit record highs Friday as investors closed out the week on an upbeat note.

The S&P 500 inched higher by 0.03% to close at 5,088.8, breaking above 5,100 for the first time earlier in the session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.16% by close, also reaching a fresh record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.28% lower but had notched a fresh all-time high earlier in the session.

— CNBC's Pia Singh and Brian Evans contributed to this report.

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