In Hong Kong, stocks were mostly flat as the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day 13 points up at 26,406 on turnover of HK$288.49 billion.
The China enterprises index was four points down at 8,884 while the tech index was three points up at 5,106.
Up north, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 45 points, or 1.1 percent, at 4,225, its highest since June 30, 2015, on turnover of 1.58 trillion yuan.
The blue-chip CSI 300 Index was up 1.7 percent, its highest in more than four years.
The Shenzhen Component Index was 335 points, or 2.2 percent, up at 15,899, on turnover of 1.95 trillion yuan yuan while the ChiNext Index surged 132 points, or 3.5 percent, to close at 3,928, the highest since mid-June 2015, on turnover of 922.847 billion yuan.
Tech shares powered the markets higher, buoyed by a broader regional rally as optimism about AI grew.
The CSI Semiconductor Index surged 6.3 percent to a record high. The CSI AI Index climbed 3.2 percent and the info tech sector index surged 4.4 percent, also touching all-time highs.
The tech-focused Star Index was up 4.7 percent.
China’s export growth rebounded strongly in April as factories raced to meet a wave of orders from AI-related industries and other buyers seeking to stockpile components amid the Iran conflicts.
Meanwhile, the country’s producer price index surpassed expectations in April to hit a 45-month high, while consumer inflation also accelerated as global energy costs remained elevated, data released on Monday showed.
“Growing global AI computing demand will continue lifting semiconductor-related exports going forward” with China’s manufacturing cost advantage becoming more pronounced, analysts at Citic Securities wrote in a note.
Elsewhere, investors are also watching the upcoming meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, where Iran and artificial intelligence are set to be discussed.
Amid escalating tensions across the world, this summit could be a step where the two dominant powers manage their rivalry, maintain the uneasy calm, and avoid a total breakdown in relations through high-level personal diplomacy, analysts at Nomura said.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei hit a record high in early trading before ending 295 points, or 0.47 percent, down at 62,417.
The broader Topix gauge, which is less exposed to geopolitical factors, climbed 11 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,840.
In Seoul, South Korean stocks sprinted to record highs as legions of retail “ant” investors swarmed into chipmakers and helping the Kospi to end 324 points, or 4.32 percent, higher at 7,822, after earlier tripping a “sidecar” trading curb having jumped 5.35 percent to a record high of 7,899. (Reuters/Xinhua)
