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

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed above the 40,000 mark on Monday to set a new record high after the S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit fresh all-time highs on Friday.

The index ended 0.5% higher at 40,109.23, while the broader Topix fell 0.12%, retreating from its all-time high hit on Friday.

The CSI 300 closed 0.1% higher at 3,540.87, with investors focused on China's "Two Sessions" meetings. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.23%.

The "Two Sessions" refer to the concurrent annual meetings of China's legislature, the National People's Congress, and the country's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

At the meetings, China premier Li Qiang is expected to deliver the government's work report, which details economic and policy goals for the world's second-largest economy, including its gross domestic product growth target.

India's Nifty 50 rose 0.1% — led by energy stocks — to a new record for the third straight day.

South Korea's Kospi rose 1.21% to end at 2,674.27, while the small cap Kosdaq was up 1.16% to finish at 872.97. South Korean markets returned for trading after a long weekend.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.13% lower at 7,735.80, after hitting an all-time closing high of 7,745.6 on Friday.

On the commodities front, oil prices rose slightly, with West Texas Intermediate crude prices briefly crossing the $80 mark for the first time in four months as oil heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia, alongside other key OPEC+ producers, said they would extend voluntary crude supply cuts until the end of the second quarter.

On Friday in the U.S., the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.14% to 16,274.94, notching a new high of 16,302.24 during the session. A day earlier, the index closed at its first record since November 2021.

The S&P 500 added 0.80% to 5,137.08 for its first close above the 5,100 threshold, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.23%.

— CNBC's Sarah Min and Alex Harring contributed to this report

Hong Kong-listed China EVs are under pressure

Chinese EV makers shares listed in Hong Kong fell in early trading on Monday.

Shares of Li Auto led declines with falls of nearly 11%, while Nio shares dropped 4.6%, Xpeng down 3.9% and BYD off 1.3%.

Fears of price wars persist in China's EV market, the world's largest. On Monday, BYD also launched a new version of its best-selling car, the Yuan Plus crossover also known as the Atto 3 overseas, pricing it lower than its discontinued predecessor, according to Reuters.

Last week, Li Auto revealed a new EV called "Mega."

"Overall, it appears that local OEMs are developing a fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to price cuts," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Japan's Nikkei 225 breaches 40,000 for the first time as its record-breaking rally continues

Japan's Nikkei 225  hit yet another record high to top the 40,000 level Monday. The index was last up 0.8%.

The benchmark index has been on a record rally, which has seen it hitting all-time highs for the first time in 34 years.

Both the Nikkei and the broader Topix have been top performers among major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific. The Nikkei is up over 20% so far this year, while the Topix is up nearly 15%.

Strong earnings and investor-friendly measures by Japan's government have fueled a blistering rally in equities this year.

The broad-based Topix inched 0.1% higher Monday after crossing the 2,700 mark and hitting a record high last Friday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

CNBC Pro: Veteran investor picks 'Glorious 10' global stocks with 30% annual gains over the last 5 years

U.S. Big Tech names were stand-out performers last year as investors piled into the so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.

These stocks – collectively – were behind much of the gains that drove the benchmark S&P 500 Index up by around 25% in 2023.

Veteran investor and trader Adam Reynolds, however, is looking beyond U.S. tech to 10 lesser-known gems across Europe, Japan and Australia.

These stocks, have a market capitalization of over $50 billion and logged a total growth rate of at least 30% returns annually over the last five years.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

South Korea factory output falls for second straight month, retail sales grow in January

South Korea's industrial output fell for the second straight month in January, while retail sales grew during the month according to data.

Industrial output growth in January fell 1.3%, from a revised 0.5% in the prior month. A Reuters poll forecast was expecting a 1% rise.

South Korea's retail sales grew 0.8% in January, after falling 0.8% in the previous month.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

CNBC Pro: Dan Niles reveals why he prefers the 'Fantastic Four' and when the 'AI bubble' might pop

Hedge fund manager Dan Niles has revealed why like prefers Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon in 2024 over Tesla, Apple and Alphabet.

Niles used the similarities between the launch of Netscape's web browser in 1994 and ChatGPT in late 2022 for hints as to how much further stocks could go.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Tech leads weekly sector gains

The technology sector rose around 2.4% this week as the S&P 500's top-performing sector. NetApp surged 20.2% to lead the sector's gains.

Consumer discretionary was the following best sector, rising 2.1%.

Meanwhile, health care, which fell 1.1%, was the biggest underperformer week to date.

— Hakyung Kim

There's still upside ahead for the equity rally, Citi says

With all three major stock indexes notching their fourth straight month of gains, it's fair to ask if the equity rally has run too hot, too fast.

But all things considered, the bubble hasn't grown to enormous proportions, Citi said.

"The current equity bubble is not (yet) overly large in terms of price appreciation, duration, valuation, or sentiment. Some are disputing whether it is a bubble in the first place given the expectations of strong earnings growth," said Citi's Dirk Willer. "We therefore think the market likely has further room to run."

He added that he remains bullish on U.S. equities, particularly technology stocks.

— Lisa Kailai Han

U.S. crude tops $80 for first time since November before OPEC+ decision

U.S. crude oil futures topped $80 a barrel for the first time in nearly four months, as signs point to a tightening market ahead of an OPEC+ decision on production cuts.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for April gained more than 2%, or $1.78, to $80.04 a barrel, while May Brent futures added 2.15%, or $1.76, to $83.67 a barrel.

U.S. crude and the global benchmark booked a second consecutive monthly gain in February as near-month contracts traded at a premium to later months, typically a sign of a tightening oil market.

OPEC+ is considering rolling over its production cuts through the second quarter and possibly the end of the year, three sources in the organization told Reuters this week. The cartel and its allies are expected to make a decision on the reductions in the first week of March, sources told Reuters.

— Spencer Kimball