India stocks hit record highs to lead gains in Asian markets on Monday, while a private survey showed China's manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in nearly two years.
India's Nifty 50 index and the S&P BSE Sensex were last up 3% each, as exit polls over the weekend projected Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance was set for a rare third consecutive term in power.
The Caixin survey showed China's manufacturing PMI rose to 51.7 in May from 51.4 the previous month, at its fastest pace since June 2022. It was also higher than a Reuters poll forecast of 51.5.
The private survey comes after official data on Friday that showed China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracted in May.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.77%, while mainland China's CSI 300 ended 0.25% higher at 3,588.75.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 1.13% higher to end at 38,923.03, while the broader Topix index ended 0.9% up at 2,798.07.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.77% to close at 7,761.00.
South Korea's Kospi rose 1.74% to end at 2,682.52, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq was 0.56% higher at 844.72.
Wall Street futures were calm ahead of the first trading day in June, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures up 25 points, or less than 0.1%.Â
S&P 500 futures were flat, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.1%.
The main indexes are coming off a strong May, with all three notching their sixth positive month in seven. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.9%, its best month since November 2023.
— CNBC's Jesse Pound contributed to this report.