<div id="readability-page-1">Investing.com- Asia stocks rose on Monday, with South Korean shares hitting a record high, while Hong Kong also advanced on AI-driven strength in the technology sector. Regional trading volumes were dulled by market holidays in Japan and Mainland China. But most other markets were also upbeat, as they caught up with last week’s gains in Wall Street. S&amp;P 500 Futures moved little in Asian trade, with focus on a swathe of earnings and nonfarm payrolls data due this week. Caution over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran also remained in play. [[pro_promotion |Get more cues on top Asian stocks by subscribing to InvestingPro]] South Korea’s KOSPI at record high on chipmaker gains South Korea’s KOSPI was the best performer in Asia, surging 3.5% to a record high of 6,828.33 points. The index was boosted chiefly by stellar gains in memory chip makers Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660), with both stocks up after clocking strong first-quarter earnings last week. SK Hynix outperformed with a 6.8% spike, also hitting record highs, while Samsung added 2.8%. Both companies– which are among the world’s largest memory chip makers– clocked bumper first-quarter earnings last week, and said that continued supply shortages in the memory market were likely to keep boosting prices and revenues. The two are key suppliers to AI majors such as Nvidia. Hong Kong jumps as tech shares rebound Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.7%, aided by a rebound in local technology stocks. Majors such as Baidu Inc (HK:9888), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (HK:0981), and Xiaomi Corp (HK:1810) surged over 4% apiece and were the top boosts to the Hang Seng. Baidu recovered some measure of last week’s losses, while SMIC remained upbeat amid persistent cheer over China’s AI prospects– which stand to greatly benefit the chipmaker. Xiaomi rose after it said it sold over 30,000 electric vehicles in April, a major rebound from the prior month. Broader Asian markets were mostly higher, taking positive cues from Wall Street’s gains last week. Singapore’s Straits Times index rose 0.5%, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 index rose 0.1%. Australia’s ASX 200 lagged, falling 0.2% amid growing bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike interest rates by another 25 basis points on Tuesday. The central bank hiked rates by a cumulative 50 bps this year, and warned of more increases as it grapples with stick inflation. Energy-driven price increases from the Iran conflict also drove a hawkish outlook for the RBA.</div>

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Asia stocks rose on Monday, with South Korea's KOSPI hitting a record high of 6,828.33 points, boosted by strong gains in memory chip makers Samsung and SK Hynix. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index increased by 1.7%, driven by rebounds in tech stocks like Baidu and Xiaomi. Broader Asian markets were mostly positive, influenced by Wall Street's previous gains, while Australia's ASX 200 fell 0.2% amid expectations of further interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia due to inflation concerns.

Asia stocks rise; S.Korea at record high, Hong Kong up on tech gains