Asian equities began a holiday-shortened week on a bright note on Monday, as a rebound in oil prices improved sentiment in global markets.
A positive finish on Wall Street last Friday also delivered gains to Asia. U.S. stocks rose for a third session, with the S&P 500 rising 3.4 percent for the week - tallying its second-best week in nearly two years.
"Markets ended last week on a positive note with the post-FOMC meeting bid tone continuing to resonate through the globe. The rebound in oil prices also helped underpin sentiment," IG market strategist Stan Shamu wrote in a note.
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Oil prices rose in early trading on Monday as consensus spread that Brent crude prices would likely remain above $60 for the rest of the year. Front-month Brent was trading at $62.04 and U.S. WTI's front-month contracts were up $0.69 at $57.82 a barrel.
However, some analysts remain bearish on oil's outlook. "Unless Saudi Arabia balances the market, prices could fall to $15-20 a barrel. The question is why are we stopping here at the moment and how long is it? We'd be a bit suspicious on [oil prices] finding a floor," Mike Harrowell, director of Resources Research at BBY told CNBC.
Nikkei flat
Japanese shares rebounded in the last hour of trade to close up marginally above the flatline on Monday, as dollar-yen traded little moved at 119.5. Earlier in the session, the key Nikkei 225 index touched an intra-day peak of 17,692 points.
Minimal movements in the currency stalled the rally in exporter stocks; Suzuki Motor dropped 0.8 percent while Toyota Motor and Panasonic dipped 0.4 and 0.2 percent each.
Oil refiner Showa Shell was one of the most actively traded stock for the day, rocketing 28 percent on news that it was in talks to be acquired by a larger rival Idemitsu Kosan, for up to $4.2 billion. Shares of Idemitsu elevated nearly 3 percent on Monday.
Read MoreJapan data, oil turmoil take spotlight this week
Mainland indices up
Chinese stocks notched up 0.7 percent amid volatile trade, which saw the Shanghai Composite index briefly touched a near 4-year high of 3,189 points in the morning session.
Top gainers include Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, which rallied 9.9 percent each.
Electric utilities also jumped after local media reported that China might launch an utility reform scheme at the beginning of 2015. Both GD Power Development and Huadian Power International rose the maximum allowable 10 percent
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In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index piled on 1.3 percent to hover near its highest level since December 12.
Sun Hung Kai Properties closed up 2.3 percent after a corruption trial involving company officials concluded last week. "The overall verdict was less severe than many people had thought so the stock price enjoyed a little rally today," Jackson Wong, associate director at United Simsen Securities Limited, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Monday.
Underperforming the bourse was Chinese stock brokerage Haitong Securities which lost 2 percent, after announcing on Sunday that it plans to raise $3.86 billion in a private share placement in Hong Kong.
ASX rises 1.9%
Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 index entered a four-session winning streak to finish at a two-week high on Monday while the Australian dollar gained 0.3 percent to trade at $0.8166 against the greenback, near multi-year lows.
Oil and gas producers rallied, with Santos and Oil Search closing up 6.4 and 5 percent, respectively. Miners were also broadly higher as iron ore prices rebounded; Fortescue Metals and BHP Billiton climbed 5.5 and 3 percent each.
Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial walked away from a sweetened $830 million offer for Transfield Services, sending shares in the Australian contract services firm sliding nearly 5 percent.
Kathmandu Holdings tanked 22 percent after the travel equipment retailer issued a profit warning.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, battling a slide in public support, reshuffled his cabinet on Sunday. Abbott is nearing the end of his first full year in office, hobbled by missteps and a souring economy that have dragged his approval ratings to historic lows.
Kospi gains 0.7%
South Korea's Kospi index tracked Asia-wide gains to finish near its highest level since December 10 on Monday, while the junior Kosdaq index also edged up 0.2 percent.
Energy firms led the advance; the country's largest refiner SK Innovation rose 3.2 percent while S-Oil added 1 percent.
Samsung Electronics traded 1.3 percent higher after announcing plans to increase its full-year dividend by as much as 50 percent last Friday. LG Electronics closed up 1.2 percent on news that it will countersue rival Samsung for defamation and forging evidence. The two electronics firms are in the middle of a legal dispute after Samsung accused LG of vandalizing its products at German shops earlier this year.
Meanwhile, South Korea cut its bullish growth forecasts for both this year and the next, according to an annual report by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, but sees conditions improving in 2015 as government stimulus measures and falling crude oil prices bolster domestic consumption.
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Emerging Asia mixed
India's broader Nifty index rose 0.3 percent on Monday on optimism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may consider an executive order to pass key reform bills, while the Indian rupee was 0.1 percent weaker against the dollar.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite flitted between gains and losses while the rupiah traded at a two-and-a-half-week low of 12,435 to the greenback.